Broken Wings
by Sapphirina
Summary: Shigure wants to share a story with Tohru, Kyo, and Yuki - about a boy who lifted a girl so high and how she fell.
1. Prologue

**A/N: I didn't expect to post this story up so fast. But I had some friends check and they said it was good. So here it is, my first Furuba fanfic. The story is be about Shigure's past, featuring my OC. Of course, I don't plan on altering the real story line so I'll try to keep the story as close to it as possible. **

**I figured this would be a two part story, obviously starting off with a prologue, interrupted by an interlude, and then ending with an epilogue. The first part will be called The Ascent. The second part will be called The Fall. I don't know how many chapters there will be but I hope no more than twenty. So enjoy.**

**BROKEN WINGS**

**Prologue**

Shigure was sipping hot tea in his chair, a book propped open by his hand as the fire raged in the fireplace. To anyone who momentarily peered into the room, it would have appeared that Shigure was enjoying a good read. However that was not the case; his mind was far from the dramatic storyline. The past was all that preoccupied his mind as his eyes merely glanced over the printed words. If someone asked him what happened in the story, he wouldn't be able to recall. That was how deep his reflecting was - wondering if his mistakes could be corrected, if a certain girl hadn't left him with such heavy words.

He glanced at the calendar on the wall and saw the date. "Today's that day, huh?" He said to himself. He almost smirked but he stopped short. Sighing, the man returned to his book.

As Shigure tried to figure out what the title character had done in the last twenty pages, Tohru, Kyo and Yuki entered the room. Kyo and Yuki both looked irritated that they were in the same room together. They only person keeping them there was Tohru, who had them both by the wrists. Shigure looked up, his glasses framing his face nicely. "What's the problem this time?"

Tohru spoke. "Kyo and Yuki got into an argument and I tried to stop them but they wouldn't listen then Kyo wanted to fight Yuki and Yuki called Kyo a stupid cat so Kyo was about to fight but I didn't want them to hurt each other so I-!"

"Easy, Tohru," Shigure interrupted, closing his book. "I can already figure out the rest. What was the argument about this time?"

"Rat boy put leeks in my soup!"

Shigure feigned ignorance. "Leeks?"

"He knows I hate them!"

"Can I leave, Shigure?" Yuki asked with an even tone. "I don't want to be in the same room with a stupid cat."

Kyo rolled up his sleeve and shook his fist at Yuki. "What was that rat boy?"

"Are you deaf, too, idiot?"

"Oh, you're asking for it!"

"Please, no fighting," Tohru pleaded.

Shigure sighed in an exaggerated fashion, capturing the three teenagers' attention. "You shouldn't fight over something so trivial, Kyo. You should just forgive Yuki or forget about it really."

"Why?" Kyo exclaimed. "He started it!"

"Even so, holding a grudge too long can be bad. Suppose one of you dies tomorrow. You two would end on the wrong foot without even correcting it. It would haunt you for the rest of your life."

Yuki raised an eyebrow at his cousin's peculiar demeanor. "You're serious for once, Shigure."

Shigure's eyes widened in mock surprise. "Is that so?" He questioned before smiling and averting his gaze. He rested his cheek on his hand as he stared off into a distance. "I was just thinking about a time when I was in a similar situation and ended on the wrong foot with someone. Of course, it wasn't over something so dumb as leeks."

Tohru took a seat on the floor, wanting to hear the story behind his strange mood. It was possibly one of the few times she would get to see the inner workings of the author's mind. "Who was it?"

"Hitomi Sohma," Shigure replied nonchalantly.

"Hitomi Sohma?" Yuki repeated. The name was so unfamiliar to him yet it sounded right in his mind.

"She was my first kiss," Shigure explained. "She was also the zodiac's sheep before Hiro."

Yuki sat down to the left of Tohru. "I never heard of her before," he commented.

"You were a bit young to remember her," Shigure replied. "It's a pity. Not many people know her tragic story."

"Tragic?" Tohru frowned as her eyebrows furrowed together.

"Yep," Shigure confirmed. "She died twelve years ago today. She hated me till her last breath."

"Why?" Yuki asked.

Shigure smirked, his gaze on three kids. "I can tell you the story if you want. It's more understandable that way."

Tohru said she wanted to hear the story. Though he didn't want to listen, Yuki decided he would because Tohru wanted to. Kyo remained standing, trying to figure out what to do. _I don't want to be in the same room with Yuki_, he thought. _But why should _he _be with . . . _He sighed. "Fine," he said out loud, as he plopped down on Tohru's right. "I'll listen to your damn story."

"Okay," Shigure said. "If you really want to. But just to let you know, it's not a happy story. No one is happy at the end of it. Well, except for possibly Akito and Minako Sohma."

Kyo folded his arms, already skeptical of the existence of Hitomi Sohma. Now Shigure had mentioned another person he had never heard of. "Minako Sohma? Who is she?"

Shigure glanced at his watch and saw that it was past eight o'clock at night. How long would it take him to cover the story from start to finish? He absentmindedly removed his glasses and cleaned them with his kimono. "I'll start at the beginning," he said, about to find out how long it would take indeed.


	2. The Ascent: Partners

**A/N: Just to let you know, quotes in bold italics are mostly Shigure's comments as he tells the story. If another person talks, I'll use Shigure to clear up who is saying what. Enjoy. **

**THE ASCENT: Partners **

Although the teacher was talking to the class about something importance, her brown eyes were elsewhere. She was staring at her distant relative, Hatori Sohma. She had developed a sort of crush on him, mesmerized by his intelligence, looks, and personality. Out of all the boys in the class, he was the most mature. She twisted a lock of her dark hair around her fingers, lost in her thoughts. It was funny in a way. They had lived on the same property their whole lives but she never noticed the kind of person. She never paid him any attention until they were in the same classs. Now she understood why the girls talked about him so much.

"Hitomi."

"Huh?" She looked up and saw that the teacher was standing by her desk. The woman held out a cap filled with folded pieces of paper.

"Take one," the teacher said, clearly seeing that the girl had been daydreaming again this period.

Hitomi took one and paid attention to the teacher this time.

"Since they are twenty-four of you, there will be twelve groups of two," the teacher explained. "Find someone who has the same number as you. They will be your partner."

Hitomi opened the paper and saw the number two. She looked at Hatori, listening to what number he had. _Please, oh please, let us have the same number_, the girl thought. She was hoping nothing but the number two was on his paper. She had always wanted to be partners with the boy and since this was the final project, she hoped this was her opportunity. She crossed her fingers, waiting to hear the number on Hatori's paper.

"I have three," Hatori told Ayame, their cousin.

Hitomi's face fell at the disappointment. _Why am I so unlucky? Whoever has Hatori as partner must be excited. _

"Me, too!" Ayame exclaimed loud enough so the class could hear. "I'm glad we're partners Hari!"

There were a few groans from the girls in the classroom. Most of them had wanted to work with the boy but Ayame had him as partner. As always. People resumed to finding their partners, trying to see if they could pair up with the second smartest person in the class.

"Hey, Hitomi." Hitomi looked up and saw a girl holding out her piece of paper. "Do you want to trade?" Her classmate asked.

The Sohma girl nodded. Because she now knew she would not work with Hatori, she believed no harm could be done. The two swapped papers and she looked at her new number: Five. She glanced around the room, trying to see who was without a partner.

"Who couldn't find theirs?" The teacher asked.

"I couldn't," someone said.

Hitomi paid no mind, wondering what this history project should be on.

"What number do you have?"

"Five."

Hitomi frowned, hearing her number called. She stared in the direction of the voice and realized who was suppose to be her partner. Her mouth gaped opened at the horror. She had to work with Shigure Sohma, the slacker of the class. Quickly she looked around, trying to see if she could trade with someone. However, she had no luck; the teacher caught her just in time.

"You don't have a partner, do you Hitomi? What's your number?"

"Five," Hitomi admitted reluctantly. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Shigure grin.

"Then you're partners with Shigure."

* * *

"_**She never wanted to be partners with me. I could tell just by the look on her face. I think she believed that I would try to get her to do all the work. Not like she was wrong though."**_

* * *

After school, Shigure came over to Hitomi's house. He removed his shoes at the door and glanced around. He had never been here before, mostly because he didn't need to. Hitomi wasn't a friend; she was someone who knew Hatori. In fact, Hatori was the only one of the Mabudachi Trio she bothered talking to. Not like he cared.

"Wait in the living room," she said, hurrying up the stairs. "I'll get some books."

"Okay," Shigure said, sitting on the couch.

Though the girl was not pleased to work with him, he was glad he had her as a partner. He needed a good grade on this history project. If he failed, he would fail the course and then he couldn't move on to ninth grade. Hitomi was one of the smartest in the class. She actually paid attention when she wasn't drooling over their cousin.

Shigure heard footsteps and looked over his shoulder. There was Hitomi, her arms filled with books.

"I didn't know which one to pick," she explained as she entered the living room. She dropped the books on the floor, producing a loud thud. She started to eagerly spread the books out. "We're suppose to choose an influential person in Japanese History and write about them, right?"

"Something like that," he said, scratching the back of his head. _No way am I doing all that reading. _"Hey, Hitomi?"

"Yeah?" Her brown eyes landed on him, bearing her curiosity.

"I'm not good at history, so I'll leave all this to you," Shigure said with a smile.

"What do you mean?"

"You're free to do whatever you want." Shigure watched her mouth drop and decided now was a good time to leave. He stood up and walked to the door where he put on the shoes.

"You can't do this," Hitomi exclaimed, finally finding her voice. "Or else-!"

"Or else what?" Shigure grinned. "You'll tell on me."

"I-I won't do it if you don't help!"

Shigure raised an eyebrow. He didn't want to seem not thrilled about the idea because in truth he was not; he needed a good grade on this project. But Hitomi did not know about that and she did not _need _to. In addition, he knew her bane. "I guess you'll fail then," he replied nonchalantly.

Her eyes widened in horror. She got up and ran to Shigure. "You can't do this! We're partners!"

Shigure opened the door, still carrying on his act. "Then we'll go down together, I guess."

"This is why no one wants to work with you!"

"Who wouldn't want to work with me? Everyone knows I'm handsome."

"Who in their right mind would think-!" Hitomi became speechless when Shigure lifted her bangs out of her eyes and leaned in.

"Can you see better, Hitomi?"

The sheep blushed and smacked his hand away. She glared at him as he nursed his hand. "I wasn't going to work with you, you know! But then someone wanted to trade numbers with me and like a fool, I did. That's the only reason we're stuck together now!"

Shigure blinked. "How sweet. You actually traded your number just to work with me. I'm actually flattered. Just for that, I'll buy the posterboard. It's the _most _I can do for you."

"Don't twist my words around," Hitomi said. "I'm not working on this alone."

"Okay then," Shigure said with a smirk as he walked out. "Tonight, figure out what a zero looks like in your average."

* * *

"_**Tell me she didn't do your dirty work."**_

"_**I wish I could say that Kyo but she did. She was an overachiever."**_

* * *

"Here!" Hitomi slammed a stapled packet onto Shigure's desk. Usually, she would never act so strangely in front of Hatori, who was standing next to Shigure's desk with Ayame. But she was annoyed and pissed off. She had worked so hard to last night putting it together. By the time it was History, she felt tired and drained. However, she still had enough energy to reprimand Shigure.

"It's done," she stated.

Shigure looked at the packet before glancing at her. "What is this?"

"It's the notes we need for the project. The _least _you can do is organize them on the posterboard you promised _you'd _buy."

"I'm sorry, Hitomi, but I don't think I have any time this week," Shigure lied, flipping through the packet. He was surprised that she did so much research in one night alone. He had lucked out with a good partner indeed.

"And what's hogging up all your precious time?" Hitomi demanded, folding her arms.

"Stuff."

". . . You do realize that the project is due the end of this week, right?"

"You'll figure something out, Hitomi. Hari was saying how resourceful you can be." Shigure caught the girl's faint blush and rolled his eyes. He had thought she liked Hatori and now it was apparent. He wondered why his cousin did not exploit this fact for his personal use. He would have manipulated her a long time ago. Get her to do his homework and stuff.

"Sometimes it's better to have someone to work with," she said but not as strongly as before. The compliment was getting to her.

"I never said that," Hatori said in a serious tone.

Shigure sweat dropped and laughed nervously. "Hari, are you sure? I swear you said that." The boy could already feel the sheep's glare on him.

"I never did," Hari stated. He was not about to be dragged into whatever problem Shigure was having with their cousin.

"Positi-!"

"Can't you be serious for once, Shigure?" Hitomi interrupted, trying to keep calm. "Will it kill you to be honest?"

"Really, Gure," Ayame said, wrapping an arm around the girl. "Can't you tell you're stressing Hitomi out? I think I even see a graying hair."

"What?" Hitomi turned and faced Ayame. "Where? Take it out."

"I got it," Ayame said, yanking the offending strand out. Upon closer examination, he frowned. "What do you know? It's not gray." He chuckled, already feeling Hitomi's heated glare.

The classroom door opened and the teacher walked into the class. "Everyone take your seats."

Shigure sighed out of relief, glad that his partner sat on the other side of the room. He wouldn't have to endure her pestering for the rest of the class. Shigure slid down in his seat and opened his nearly blank notebook. When the teacher began talking, he felt a tap on his shoulder. It was Hatori no doubt; he was the only one who sat behind him.

"What you're doing isn't fair," Hatori whispered.

"You're worrying about nothing, Hari," Shigure whispered back, his eyes on the front of the board.

"Am I? Hitomi's glaring at you."

Shigure looked over to his left and saw the sheep giving him dirty looks. When she started drawing her finger across her neck in an exaggerated fashion, he looked away. "As I said before, Hari - nothing."

"I'm sure we don't have to worry about her killing you," Ayame whispered, joining into the conversation. "I think Hari's more worried about her feelings."

Shigure smirked and looked at his cousin. "Is that true, Hari? Do you have a crush on Hitomi, Hari?"

Hatori looked away, blushing a little. Was Shigure serious? At this point of his life, he didn't understand why Shigure believed he was having infatuations with Hitomi. There were more important things he had to think about other than girls. "No," he replied curtly.

"That's too bad," Shigure said, tilting his head to a side and smiling. "She really likes you."

Hatori turned his head sharply. "She _what_?"

"She what indeed," the teacher said, walking between the two boys' desks. Her eyes landed on Hatori. "You wouldn't have to ask if you paid attention to me and not Shigure, Hatori."

Shigure chuckled silently, watching Hatori glance at Hitomi across the room and the girl smiling in response. Aya scribbled something in his notebook and lifted it up so his cousins could see.

'That's so cute! Hari's got a girlfriend!'

Shigure wrote something down and lifted it up. 'I know.'

"I don't," Hatori said in a hiss, already annoyed by his friends' antics.

"Hatori," the teacher said from the front of the room, her eyes on her favorite student. She pointed to the opposite side of the room. "There's an empty seat behind Hitomi-chan. Take it."

Sighing, Hatori ignored Shigure's snickering and picked up his books. He gave Shigure a look and the boy merely shrugged; there was nothing that could be done. The dragon of the zodiac made his way across the room and took the seat behind Hitomi.

Shigure hadn't meant to get his friend in trouble but he couldn't help teasing him about his admirer. Now, Hatori was next to her. He glanced over to his left and saw that Hatori was scribbling something fast onto a piece of paper. The dog watched as his cousin folded it and tapped Hitomi's shoulder. The girl turned around, clearly surprised that Hatori was talking to her. Shigure watched Hitomi take the note, open it, and then read.

"Shigure-kun," the teacher said. "Are you copying the notes on the board?"

"Yes," Shigure said and opened his notebook. Then he started to doodle.

* * *

Sixth Period Lunch came faster than expected. Shigure picked up a tray and got into the long line. He looked at the assortment of foods and wondered what to take. Finally, he decided pizza and put the dish on his tray. Moving further down the line, he picked up a carton of milk and a bag of chips. Eventually, he reached the register and paid for his lunch.

"You!" Shigure turned around and saw Hitomi stomping toward him.

"What's wrong?" He asked innocently.

"Why would you tell Hatori that I like him?" She demanded, clutching a piece of paper in her hand.

"It's not like I'm lying," he said.

"You're a complete and utter jerk!" Hitomi yelled, no longer caring about the growing audience. "It's like you're trying to ruin my life! First you refused to do the project, now this!" She waved the paper frantically. After a while, Shigure realized it was the note Hatori written during History. What did it say? Did Hatori tell her it was _he _who told him?

"Can I see that for a second?" Shigure asked, reaching for the note.

"No!" She stepped back so he couldn't take it. "Not until you tell me why you hate me!"

"Hate you?" Shigure was dumbfounded. The girl actually thought he hated her. That was a first. Most girls would take it as a sign of flirting but she really believed he was out to ruin her life. "No I don't."

"Then why won't you help me with the project, huh? Why would you tell Hatori something like that?" Again she waved the paper, an indication as to what she was talking about.

Shigure was about to reply when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around and saw Hatori standing there, his face serious. "You realize you're causing a scene, right?"

The dog of the zodiac looked around and saw the amount of eyes staring back. He grinned sheepishly and looked back at the girl. Her brown eyes were on the floor, her face a bit red. At first he thought she was embarrassed about having an audience. But then a second reason came to mind - Hatori was now here and she probably didn't want to see him.

Hanging her head low, Hitomi said, "I have to go."

As she walked away, Hatori forced Shigure out into the hallway, lunch tray and all.

**

* * *

"__****I don't know how Hatori convinced me. I didn't want to deal with Hitomi at all. But there I was, walking toward her . . ."**

* * *

It was the end of the day and all the students were getting ready to go home. Shigure would have been by his locker by now. However, he wanted to see someone before they could leave. He couldn't wait to see her at the Sohma Estate later; he needed to get it out of the way now just to ease his mind.

Hitomi was at her locker, dropping books into her side bag. Taking a deep breath, Shigure approached her. "Hey," he said.

She looked at him for a moment and then returned to what she was doing. "Go away."

Shigure ignored what she said. "I found out that I won't be so busy this week. I can help out with the project now."

Another death glare. "Are you going to sabotage the project now? I'm fine doing it by myself. I'll just tell the teacher that you didn't help me."

"I actually want to help you, Hitomi."

Their eyes met. "Why?"

" . . . I like you a lot, Hitomi."

"Really?"

* * *

"_**It was a harmless lie to me. I told many girls the same thing. They always seemed to do what I wanted. I assumed that Hitomi was nothing more than another hopeless girl in my class."**_

* * *

"Yeah, really," Shigure said.

Hitomi closed her locker and picked up her bag, putting the strap on her shoulder. Then she turned and faced him, clearly irritated now. She was running out of patience. "You're such a liar, Shigure," she said coldly.

Shigure stood there dumbfounded.

* * *

"_**She didn't seem to buy it."**_

* * *

Hitomi attempted to walk pass him but he grabbed her arm just in time. The girl turned around, looking at him. She was clearly upset now and Shigure couldn't blame her. She had every reason to be mad. And yet he had hope that they would be able to work together. He never needed the grade so bad.

"Hitomi, I wouldn't ask if I really didn't need the grade."

Their eyes met once more.

" . . . Give me one good reason, Shigure."

* * *

"_**One good reason was all she wanted."**_

* * *

" . . . Think of it as me trying to make amends for what happened with you and Hatori," Shigure finally stated.

"I'm never talking to him again because of you," she said. She looked away now, trying to think of her options. _Should I really work with him?_ The girl sighed, unable to believe what she was about to say. " . . . Five o'clock. My house. My mom will be cooking dinner so you can eat if you want . . . Bring the posterboard, too."

Shigure grinned. "I told you that I'll buy one already, remember?"

"I know. Just don't forget."

"I won't."


	3. The Ascent: Presentations

**A/N: I know. It's been a very long time and I apologize to all those who had an interest in this story and I took forever to update. I was stuck on this chapter for a while and now that I'm pass it, I hope the rest of the story comes smoothly. Writing about their budding romance shouldn't be too hard to do. Anyway thanks to Knightgirl4Jack, Corn-dono, and Sesshomaru's Girlfriend for reviewing. Enjoy.**

**THE ASCENT: Presentations**

"Thanks for dinner, Minako-san," Shigure said. Tonight he had came over to Hitomi's place to work on the project. It was due two days from now and they had to do a lot of last minute things. Because he needed to stay longer than usual, Minako, Hitomi's mother, had offered him dinner. He had graciously accepted and now that he was done, he dropped his fork onto his empty plate, satisfied with the meal. His eyes landed on Minako, who was clearing the dish rack. "The food was delicious."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it," Minako replied. "Usually I never cooked for three. Hitomi never brings friends over."

Shigure glanced at Hitomi. Outside the kitchen, the girl had been very talkative and perhaps a little bossy. But inside the kitchen, in the presence of Minako, the girl had been very quiet except for the occasional replies to Minako's questions. Even those questions had not been great in number. In fact, Minako really only asked two and they had sounded rather forced. Shigure had struggled to keep the silence at bay. The boy watched the girl play with the bits of rice on her plate. "Are you done, Hitomi?" He asked, interrupting her thoughts.

"Yeah," she said. The girl abruptly stood and took his plate. She put her plate on top of his and skillfully took both their glasses in one hand. Then she brought them over to the sink where Minako had started to wash dishes. Each step had been brisk and fast-paced. And when Hitomi's arm brushed her mother's, her flinch did not go unnoticed.

* * *

"**Hitomi had been so tense. At the time, I thought it was something that had happen earlier between Hitomi and Minako-san. The two acted so different at parties. The perfect mother and daughter despite the zodiac curse that existed in the family, despite the fact that the father was out of the picture. I didn't understand the tension until months later."**

* * *

"Come on," Hitomi said as she returned to the table. She stood there, her eyes on Shigure. "Let's try to work some more."

Shigure stood and followed the girl to the living room, glad that she was suddenly talkative again. It was exactly how the left prior to dinner. Books were scattered everywhere, notes were thrown askew, and glue and tape littered the floor along with markers. Scrap pieces of construction paper were all over the red carpet. In the middle of all that mess was an incomplete poster titled 'Emperor Meiji Tennou'. Hitomi plopped down on the floor and reached for an orange marker. "Can pass me the notes?" She said.

Shigure picked up a few random papers. "You mean these?"

She took them and scanned the words. "Yes. Thanks." She went to work, translating her notes into sensible sentences on construction paper. After she was done, she passed it to Shigure. "Glue this on for me?"

He took it and flipped it over. Then he put some glue on the back. After some consideration, he put the paper onto the posterboard. He looked at Hitomi, waiting for the next order. He found waiting for orders a bit boring. She refused to let him do anything else, worried that his sloppy handwriting might ruin the poster. A minute passed and the girl was still busy reading her notes to see if there was anything that she missed. "When's the project due?"

"After tomorrow," she replied, reaching for a red marker this time.

"Why don't we take a break and finish it tomorrow night?"

"Why? We're halfway done."

"After five hours," he said with a yawn. Didn't the girl realize that all this work was draining his energy? Apparently she didn't; the overachiever had plenty to spare. She handed Shigure another piece of construction paper with her handwriting on it and he glued it down. The phone rang in the living room.

Hitomi got up and answered it. "Hello? Oh. Hi . . . Yeah. He's here . . . Okay. I'll tell him. Bye." With a sigh, she turned around and faced Shigure. "That was your mom. She wants you home now."

"Really?" Shigure asked, standing. He didn't bother hiding his enthusiasm. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Minako standing in the doorway. She looked a bit relieved herself. "I'll come back tomorrow," he said.

"Okay," Hitomi said. "I'll try to work some more tonight so we don't have much to do tomorrow."

"Great. See you tomorrow then." Shigure turned away from Hitomi and looked at Minako. "Thanks for having me over Minako-san."

The woman gave him a strained smile. "No problem. You're welcome here any time. Right, Hitomi?"

Shigure looked at the girl and saw the distant look on her face. Obviously, she was concerned with something else. He wanted to ask if she was alright but perhaps she didn't want to be bothered in front of her mother. Her eyes finally met his and she forcibly cracked a tiny smile. "Of course, mom. Shigure is always welcomed here."

* * *

It was the next day. Classes hadn't begun; the bell had yet to ring and that wouldn't happen for another ten minutes. So Hatori took his time at his locker, listening to Shigure and Ayame's conversation about cars. He wasn't really that interested for he was searching for his math homework. If he didn't find it, he was screwed for first period. Finally, he found it inside a textbook. He placed it in his folder and closed his locker. "How was it with Hitomi?" he asked, trying to join the conversation.

Shigure looked at his cousin. "It was better than I thought it would be," he admitted. That was the honest truth. He had expected Hitomi to be mean and yell at him but she hadn't. In fact, she had been nice.

"So she didn't bite your head off, Gure?" Ayame asked.

"Nope." Shigure looked down the hallway and saw Hitomi walking passed them. He was certain that she had seen them. Perhaps she didn't want to stop by and talk. Maybe she was in a rush. But even so, would a simple greeting kill her?

"Tomi!" Ayame said loudly.

The girl froze in her tracks and slowly turned around. She reluctantly walked toward them. Shigure caught Hitomi and Hatori's glances at each other before the two looked away. Yep. It was still awkward between them. No wonder she had been mad at him before. He had taken away any level of comfort ability that she had around Hatori.

"Hi." Hitomi swayed on the spot, her brown eyes on Shigure. "Um, you're still coming over, right?" she asked.

Shigure nodded. "Yeah. We have to finish our project, remember?"

"I know." She looked at Ayame and then at Hatori. Their eyes met again before they looked away. Why, oh, why did he have to be right here? "I better go now," she said and instantly removed herself from the very awkward situation.

After she left, Hatori relaxed. "I wish you never told me, Shigure," he said. "That she likes me, I mean. She doesn't even want to talk to me anymore."

"She'll get over it," Shigure said, not even positive that would be the case. Girls had a funny way of dealing with boys. They would giggle with their friends when their crushes pass by, force their other friends to confront their own crushes, and plan out ways to get their crushes' attention. He supposed that this was just what happened when the object of affection found out and did not reciprocate.

The bell rang. Ayame started to walk away. "I'll see you later, Gure, Hari!"

"Let's go," Hatori said, walking away in the opposite direction. Him and Shigure had math together and the boy did not want to be late.

"Sure," Shigure said and followed.

* * *

"Put that over there."

"Got it."

Shigure glanced at Hitomi. She seemed almost happy. The boy didn't think it had to do with him. _She's probably happy we're actually getting work done_, he thought. They had been working on their project for the last two hours and finally he saw the end in sight. It was a good feeling no doubt and he actually could say he helped his partner without lying.

"Are you reading any of this?" Hitomi suddenly asked.

Shigure frowned. "Reading what?"

"The facts on the paper," she said, looking slightly irritated. "You have to at least know what you're talking about tomorrow during the presentation. I can't speak the entire time. You know that, right?"

Shigure blinked. "You want me to memorize this?"

"That's one way of putting it."

"You're joking, right? Do you know how long this will take?"

"Well, Shigure, if you had been reading as well as gluing, then you would know all this by now." She waved her hand at the posterboard as an indication of what he should know. "Not only do you need to know that but also outside information. You know, things not on the poster."

"Can't I just read what's off the poster?"

"Who does that?"

Shigure laughed. "Obviously not you, Hitomi."

Hitomi narrowed her eyes as she reached for the small packet of her notes. She tossed it at the boy. "Here. Read it, memorize it, and be able to recite it tomorrow."

Shigure stared at the girl in disbelief. "I can't memorize this in one night . . . How about I borrow the poster, memorized what's on that, and then I'll look up any more information on it? Does that work?"

Hitomi sighed. "Fine," she grumbled. "Just don't forget to bring the poster to school tomorrow or else."

Shigure grinned. "I'll remember it. Promise."

* * *

Shigure went to school the next day feeling weird. He had a feeling that he had forgotten something but wasn't sure what it could be. He didn't think it was a textbook - he never brought those home. His homework was all in his book bag. He had double-checked this morning. He knew that he forgot something very important, something very necessary. The teenager didn't remember until first period Math.

Hitomi bounded over to him, a grin on her face. "Did you bring the poster?"

Shigure grinned. "Of course I did. It's in my locker."

Grinning widely, Hitomi wrapped her arms around the boy and hugged him tightly. If she didn't have any mental restraints, she probably would have pecked him on the cheek. For the first time, she was happy because she believed that he didn't screw anything up. "You're the best, Shigure!" She pulled away from him and stared into his eyes, unable to see the lie. "Thanks." With a smile and a shrug, Hitomi turned away and hurried to her seat.

"You forgot it, didn't you?" Hatori said from the seat behind, watching the girl almost skip back to her seat.

Shigure sighed. "Yep."

"You do know what will happen when she finds out, right?" Hatori asked. If Ayame had the same class as them, he would have happily supplied the answer. But the boy knew he didn't have to explain it for his cousin to understand.

Shigure's fingers drummed the desk as he tried to think of a way out of it. He could go to the nurse's office and act so sick that he would be permitted to go home. However, that involved fooling the nurse and he wasn't sure how he would pull off a fever. He looked at Hitomi and saw her flash a grin at him. He quickly looked away. She was going to beat him up when she found out.

After forty minutes of plotting, the bell rang. Shigure started to gather his books as fast as possible but Hitomi reached him before he could take off. This was great. "Hello, Tomi," he greeted. He looked over his shoulder and nodded at Hatori to walk off without him. When he saw the dragon of the zodiac walk out the door, Shigure looked back at Hitomi. "Do you need something?"

"Just the project," she said, beaming at him. She placed her books down to temporarily free her arms of the load. "I want to set it up ahead of time. I made little models for it last night after you left."

Shigure kept his grin in place, trying so hard not to let it falter. "You know what, Hitomi? You've worked hard the last few days, so I'll set it up."

"It's okay. I don't mind doing it. Plus I really want to."

"But, Tomi, I insist." The boy took her hands in his and his eyelids dropped in an attempt to come off as benign. He leaned closer to her. As pink started to fill her cheeks, a confused look came over her face. It was strange; just for a brief moment, he thought that she looked cute like that. There was no frustration - just a glimmer of innocence that he wanted to take away from her.

"Shigure?"

He realized that he hadn't spoken for a while and felt stupid. Still, he didn't let it disrupt his composure. His life depended on it. He squeezed her hands and said, "I want everything to be perfect for you today."

Her eyebrows furrowed together. "Honestly?"

"I mean it, Hitomi," he told her, watching the disbelief disappear from her face. _Just keep looking into her eyes and she'll give up. How can she not? _

Suddenly Ayame rushed into the room and slammed the nearest desk. "Is it true, Gure? That you forgot your project at home? Um . . . Oops?"

Shigure wanted to disappear. He could feel her hands in her twitch slightly as if she wanted to smack him. He was a bit scared to confront her gaze but he did so anyway. He almost sighed out of relief. Her glare was on the floor and her lips were set in a straight line but at least it wasn't directed at him. Slowly, she slid her hands out of his and took hold of her book. Then she whacked his arm with it.

"You're a real jerk, Shigure."

Shigure sighed and ran a hand through his dark hair. The girl wasn't even looking at him now and he suddenly missed her classic reprimanding glare. "I know, I know but if you just let me ex. . ." His voice trailed off when he saw Hitomi turned around, her back facing him. After picking up her books from the desk, she walked out of the classroom. The boy stood there, contemplating the situation.

"I didn't know that she was in the room," Ayame said apologetically. "Or else I wouldn't have said anything."

Shigure sighed and looked at the clock. "We have gym second period, right, Aya?" It was a rhetorical question and the boy wasn't expecting an answer. Still, Aya nodded his head. "If I leave now, I should have enough time to make it back before History."

* * *

"**I think I just felt bad. Maybe guilty. She hadn't yelled at me. If she did, I probably wouldn't have bothered getting our project."**

* * *

Shigure stood outside the classroom door. He wasn't ready to go in yet. His uniform was in a mess. There were a few tears here and there, the most obvious on his knee. He had a few grass stains. And he didn't smell so fresh from all the running he did. That was the last time he was cutting through backyards, considering it as taking shortcuts. Two vicious dogs were enough to make him rethink that idea. His brown eyes dropped to the poster in his hand before looking through the tiny window in the door.

Hitomi was up in front, talking about her models by herself. He couldn't hear what she was saying so the boy cracked open the door.

"Any questions?"

"Your poster," the teacher said. "Do you have it with you? It is after all the crux of the project."

"I . . ." As her voice trailed off, a dark look came across her face. Apparently she was still upset about what had happened today. She had called him a jerk. Well, he was about to prove her wrong about that one. He waited for the perfect moment to make his grand entrance.

"Sohma-chan ?"

"I -!"

Shigure opened the door and walked into the room. He stuck out the rolled up poster at the teacher. "It's right here!"

"You're late Shigure. Do you have a late pass?"

"Er, no."

"Detention after school."

Shigure sighed. If he had known, he wouldn't have shown up at all. However, he knew he would have gotten detention for skipping the last two periods. He walked over to Hitomi and held out the poster. "Here," he said, his tone awfully serious. Their eyes met and he saw something inside her brown eyes. Relief. Gratitude. Regret. Hitomi took the poster and unrolled it. Using the magnets on the chalkboard, she pinned up for everyone to see.

". . . Shigure and I made a poster about the most influential Emperor, Emperor Meiji Tennou. As you can see . . ."

* * *

Shigure was waiting for Hitomi after class. He watched her gather her belongings as their classmates filed out of the room. There were a few unsaid words between them that he wanted to hear, wanted to know. He could tell that she was purposely taking her time, walking over to her little models and rearranging them on top of the cupboards. She turned around and picked up her books. Then she walked up to him. She swayed on the spot before saying anything.

"You honestly deserve that detention," she said.

The boy smiled a bit. "I know." He should have known better than to expect a show of gratitude from Hitomi. She could hardly tolerate him, if she even allowed that.

Her lips parted as if she was about to say something but retracted at the last minute. Her eyes dropped to the floor and her books shifted in her arms. Her lips parted again and this time moved to form actual words. "You're still a jerk, Shigure."

He was about to comment but her gaze cut him off.

"But you're . . . not the big jerk I thought you were."

* * *

"**I was a bit surprise. Coming from her, it was almost a compliment. All I could say at the time was-"**

* * *

"Thanks."


	4. The Ascent: The Search, Pt 1

**A/N: Wow. The first update to this story since August 11, 2009. D: I decided to pick this up again because I have this 'dream' that somehow, by the end of this year, every story that is unfinished will be finished. So this story is one of the five 'incompletes'. I don't know how possible that is but we will see. In the mean time, I hope that this chapter is good. **

**THE ASCENT: The Search, Pt. 1**

"Tooooommmmiiiiiiii!"

At the sound of her nickname, Hitomi turned around. Her brown eyes opened wide at the sight of Ayame running toward her. In a matter of seconds, the snake of the zodiac swooped her into a bone crushing hug.

"How are you dear Tomi? You missed me right?"

"I saw you like ten minutes ago," Hitomi forced out.

Ayame dropped her and took on a thoughtful expression. "Oh yeah. You did. But you didn't sit with me and the others. Did Shigure do something?"

Hitomi gave him a weak smile before she noticed Hatori and Shigure coming toward them. Walking home together as a group wasn't something they did often. Sometimes she would walk home with a school buddy – always a girl just to avoid the obvious catastrophes – and the Mabudachi Trio would go home together. Sometimes they would leave the school in pairs – Hatori and Hitomi and Shigure and Ayame or Ayame and Hitomi and Shigure and Hatori or, if life decided to be cruel that day, Hatori and Ayame and Shigure and Hitomi. Actually, life would have to be _exceptionally_ cruel that day.

Shigure and Hatori finally reached the pair. Shigure noticed that Hitomi immediately cracked a smile at Hatori. _A new school year and nothing has changed_, Shigure thought.

"Hi Hari," Hitomi greeted.

"Hello, Hitomi," Hatori said.

Her gaze landed on Shigure and he swore her enthusiasm died down a little. "Hi."

"Yeah, hi." He had hoped that after he had run and gotten that poster for her sake last year, their relationship would have improved. Well it had but then she found out she got a B and she flipped. If her partner had been Hatori or maybe even Ayame, she would have gotten over it. But because it had been Shigure, who had been so lazy and unmotivated, she felt that _he_ was to blame. Maybe it was his fault but couldn't she get over it?

"So how are you?" Hatori asked.

"I'm doing good," Hitomi replied. "I'm glad I got homeroom with you guys."

"**Naturally I was the exception."**

"It's great that we have the same homeroom," Ayame said. "We can do homework together."

"Maybe we'll have no projects that our partners could screw us over," Hitomi said with a grin.

Shigure raised an eyebrow. He should have seen that one coming a mile away. She had asked one of their teachers if they would have to work in pairs at one point. But she had called him out on it – indirectly but still – and he had a desire to even up the score. "Hey, Hitomi." The girl looked at him with raised eyebrows. Shigure smiled mischievously at her. "You're over Hari right?"

Her face heated up immediately. He expected her to fire something back but she didn't. Instead she started to walk away. Shigure quickly grabbed her hand. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding."

"You kid too much," she said. The blush had yet to clear her cheeks. In fact, it seemed to be deepening.

"She's right, Shigure," Hatori said, his eyes briefly landing on Hitomi. "You do."

"Not you, too, Hari," Shigure said, feigning dismay. "That means I might have to take Hitomi seriously."

"Can you let go of my hand now?" Hitomi suddenly asked.

Shigure looked at their hands. He quickly let go, feeling the color rising to his cheeks. He hadn't realized that he had still been holding onto her. Not like it meant anything. She turned away and he was glad that she didn't try taking off again.

"So what are you guys doing this weekend?" She asked as they started to walk as a group.

"Hatori's father invited us to the beach Saturday," Ayame said. "Saturday is supposed to be really hot. We're all going."

"Actually I'm not going anymore," Shigure said.

Hatori looked at the dog of the zodiac. "You're not?"

"Last minute dentist appointment," Shigure explained.

Aya stared at his best friend and frowned. "Why Gure?"

Shigure sighed. "Well, my mom insisted."

"But _Gure_." Ayame gave Shigure this odd, infatuated look. "You _know_ my weekend won't be the same without you." Hatori and Hitomi raised their eyebrows. They thought that was as bizarre as it was going to get. But they were wrong.

To their shock, Shigure returned Ayame's gaze. "Ah, mine without you, Aya."

"Maybe we should spend our last few hours together," Ayame suggested. "You know, before I leave."

"Indeed we should. My place?"

"Yes! Oh, Shigure."

"Oh Aya."

The two boys gaze longingly into each other eyes before they started laughing. They laughed even harder when they saw Hatori's and Hitomi's faces. Shigure calmed down first. "It's this new act me and Aya are working on," he explained with a grin. "Does it make you feel uncomfortable?"

Hatori didn't respond because quite frankly he didn't know what to say. Hitomi, on the other hand, replied, "Hardly." She was not going to give them the satisfaction that something so stupid had made her feel like running away.

Ayame stopped laughing and looked at Hitomi. "What are you doing this weekend?" he asked.

"Nothing much."

"Then you should come with us! You can take Shigure's spot."

Hitomi gave a weak smile. "It's okay. I kinda want to stay in this weekend."

"Come on, Tomi," Ayame pleaded. "I want you to come. Hari wants you to come."

Hitomi blushed again at the mention of Hatori. "No. I'm okay."

"Come on, Tomi."

"Aya, I'm okay."

"Please."

"No."

Ayame and Hitomi went back and forth a few more times. Finally Hatori stepped in. "I want you to come with us, Hitomi." Shigure and Ayame stared at him in surprised. Even Hatori seemed a little taken back by his sudden boldness.

The girl's face was redder than ever but she still shook her head. "I'm okay. Really, Hari. I just want to stay home this weekend."

"**You see, she had other plans..."**

Around noon that Saturday, Shigure came home from the dentist. Usually one of his parents would go with him but today they had to take care of family business. Whatever it was, it would occupy them the whole day. He was happy about that. While his home had not fallen apart like those of some zodiac members, at times it could be uncomfortable. So he was ready to come back to an empty house and just relax for the rest of the afternoon. But when he arrived, he found Hitomi, out of all people, sitting on his house steps. She looked up at him and immediately stood onto her feet.

"Hi Shigure." She tried to give him a smile but failed miserably.

Shigure ran a hand through his black hair. "Hi." Quickly he thought about what he did the last 24 hours. He was almost certain that he had done nothing wrong. _Unless she's still upset about that Hatori comment. _ Knowing her, she would be. "So... what are you doing here?"

Hitomi looked at the ground and shifted her weight a little. "I was hoping you wouldn't mind doing me a favor."

Shigure laughed but then he saw Hitomi getting frustrated. "You're serious, aren't you?"

"I wouldn't waste my time here if I wasn't."

"That is true." Shigure examined girl, trying to figure her out. He couldn't think of anything that would prompt a visit from Hitomi.

"Do you want to go on a trip with me?"

"...Just the two of us?"

"I would rather ask Hari or Aya but they're at the beach today."

_So that's why she was asking about our plans this weekend_, he realized. "Where are you going?"

Hitomi averted her gaze. She looked so unsure of herself and Shigure wondered if she was going to tell him. Eventually she did. "I'm going to see my father."

His eyes narrowed slightly. "Didn't he leave a long time ago?"

"About ten years ago," she said.

"And you want to see him because?"

"I think my mother would be happy if he came back home," she replied. "I'm pretty sure she still misses him."

Hitomi was one of those zodiac members who had a broken home. It was something Shigure had overheard about. Sometimes from his relatives, sometimes from his parents. Despite the warnings from various members of the Sohma house, Hitomi's mother Minako had dated an outsider. They were due to get married a few months after the baby was born. But that never happened. The wedding was continuously pushed back until the whole thing was called off. And then the man left Minako to raise Hitomi because their life together was not what he had imagined. At least, that was the simplified version.

"Are you sure about this?" Shigure asked Hitomi. "Chances are they wiped his memory."

"I can't believe someone could forget their own daughter. I don't think he forgot my mother either. I would go by myself but I've tried before and I always change my mind. I just want you to come along to make sure I don't this time."

_This isn't going to end well_, Shigure thought. It never ended well for members of the zodiac. "Do you know where he lives?" She nodded. "Alright. Let's go."

Shigure and Hitomi left the Sohma estate about an hour later and took the train to a town up north. After a ten minute ride, they got off at the station. Shigure looked at Hitomi. "Where do we go from here?" He asked.

"Just follow me." She started walking and as directed, Shigure followed right behind.

He couldn't believe that this was how he was going to spend his Saturday afternoon, allowing Hitomi to head straight into... Disaster maybe? Hitomi was a strong girl. She should be able to handle whatever disappointment came her way. But what if she couldn't? He didn't even know how to comfort her. They weren't even that close to begin with and the only reason he was going so that she would owe him a favor in the future. Even then he wasn't sure if a favor from Hitomi was worth all the possible trouble. _Maybe I should have convinced her to go next weekend_, he thought. _Hari and Aya should be free then. They would know what to do if she breaks down._

The two teenagers passed a park. Right by the entrance was an ice cream truck. Shigure realized that it had been a while since he had eaten ice cream and a nice, warm day practically called for it. "Hey, Hitomi, do you want some ice cream?"

"Not right now," she replied. "I want to get this over with as soon as possible."

Shigure looked at the ice cream truck one last time. "If you say so."

They turned onto a residential street and walked a few blocks. They passed a few houses where dogs ran up to the fence and looked eagerly at Shigure, wagging their tails. The scene caused Hitomi to laugh a little as they continued walk down the sidewalk. "I wonder if sheep would do the same thing to me if they lived around here."

"Well, you are the sheep of the zodiac," Shigure said matter-of-factly.

"They say something similar happens to Aya's little brother right? And Kureno too?" Shigure nodded his head. "It must be a sight then although I wouldn't want to be around Yuki when that happens. Rats are kinda freaky."

"You're scared of rats?"

"And mice, too. Actually, I think there are several zodiac members I wouldn't want to meet up close. I'm happy we don't live in places where tigers, monkeys, boars-!"

"How about dogs?"

"Dogs live around here."

"I mean do you like dogs?"

She stopped in her tracks and looked at Shigure with a puzzled look. "Is that a trick question?"

"No."

One of the dogs barked. The two looked at it and it started panting happily. Hitomi smiled. Shigure couldn't remember a time where Hitomi had smiled so much while being in only his company. To be honest, he liked this side of her. She wasn't making snide remarks or nagging him about something.

"If you must know, Shigure," she finally responded, "there is one dog I know I don't like."

"You do realize I don't have to be here, right?"

Hitomi smiled and started walking again. "I didn't say the 'dog' was you, did I?" She paid no mind to Shigure's yeah-right look. "Now come on. We're almost there."

They walked down another block – this one was particularly long – before Hitomi stopped in front of a house. The house was medium sized and white with a black roof and a brick chimney on the side. The lawn had been recently cut and the flowerbed was starting to grow again.

"So this is where he lives?" Shigure asked.

Hitomi pulled out a piece of paper and looked at it. "Apparently so."

"Well, aren't you go to go ring the doorbell or something?"

Hitomi started combing her black hair with her fingers as she mulled the idea over. Then she looked at Shigure. "Be honest: this is stupid of me, isn't?"

"Yep."

She frowned. "You really didn't hesitate on that one."

"No. It's just that I thought it was stupid from the start.

"Really because most people don't let people go through with things if it's stupid from the start. If I was with Hari or Aya, they wouldn't let me get this far." She started to walk away but Shigure grabbed her wrist. "Can't you let go?"

"I would but I can't do that."

"You're such an-!"

Shigure pulled her back and forced her to face him. "Look. The only reason I let you get this far because I think you need to do this. Even if it's the dumbest thing you're going to do in your life."

"**Actually Hitomi would say it was the second dumbest thing in her life."**

The teenage boy sighed and let go of her shoulders. Yep. This was definitely not how he wanted to spend his Saturday afternoon. But he was not about to let this trip be for nothing. "Hitomi, what's the worst that could happen?"

"I'll humiliate myself," she replied.

Shigure grinned. "Then we should get going."

"Shigure."

He placed a hand on her back and steered her toward the front door. "I'll come with you to door." She looked at him with so much uncertainty that he had to wonder if he was being dumber than she was at the moment. But then she allowed him to lead her without question. The walk seemed like an eternity but it took under a minute for them to reach the top most step. Shigure looked at Hitomi. He could see the doubt in her brown eyes already and the only thing that kept her from running was the hand on her back. It was strange; even though it was not his father on the other side of the door, he felt every bit as anxious as Hitomi. "Ready?"

She nodded and knocked loudly. She stepped back when the doorknob turned and inhaled sharply when the door swung open. A man appeared in the doorway. He had rather unkempt black hair and dark eyes. He had quite a beard going for him and eyebrows that had lives of their own. Shigure couldn't believe his eyes. Was this really the man Minako Sohma had fallen for? Even Hitomi seemed a bit caught off guard.

"Can I do something for you kids?" He asked. His gaze passed over them both. "If it's about magazine subscriptions, I'm not interested."

"N-no, it's not," Hitomi forced out. Her eyebrows knitted together as she examined the man. "Are you... Satoshi Saito?"

**A/N: And that's it. For now anyways. Thanks to Maggiepie34, Knight4Jack, JubbieOokami, and xLilim for reviewing way back in '09/'10. And thanks to those who added this story to their favorites/alerts lists. Hopefully the next chapter will be up soon. So in the mean time, review please.**


	5. The Ascent: The Search, Pt 2

**A/N: This chapter has been somewhat done for a while but college life had kept me from putting the final touches on it. Now summer vacation is here and I should have more time to update. So enjoy. :)**

**THE ASCENT: The Search, Pt 2:**

"Are you... Satoshi Saito?"

The man stared at the two teens, scratching the side of his head. He seemed a little confused. "Sorry," he replied, "But you got the wrong house."

Hitomi blinked. "I do?"

The man nodded. "The man you're looking sold this house to me a few months back," he explained. He averted his gaze to the doorframe and gave it a slight knock. "I guess he found this house a little too small."

In that instant all the tension left Hitomi's body. Still, she didn't look entirely pleased. "I see."

"Is he still in town?" Shigure suddenly asked. Hitomi looked at him in surprise but he paid her no mind.

For a second, he appeared to wonder if disclosing such information was alright. "He moved several blocks down the road," the man replied, nodding to his right as indication of which direction. "Into a big green house. It's quite nice actually."

Shigure looked at Hitomi. "I guess that's where we're heading next, right?"

She looked at him and shrugged her shoulders. "I guess so." She turned back toward the man and bowed her head. "Thank you so much, sir."

"No problem." The man looked as if he wanted to ask why they were looking for this man. But despite his curiosity, he decided not to ask about their business. They were harmless kids after all. "Good luck," he said, not sure what he was wishing them luck on. The teens said their thanks again and he then went back inside, leaving the two teens alone to figure out their next move.

"Do you think that was a sign?" Hitomi asked as they walked back onto the sidewalk.

Shigure frowned. "A sign for what?"

"That I should turn back?"

"Hitomi, I thought I explained this to you."

"I know you did," she replied. "I just never took your advice before."

"There can be exceptions, right?" Shigure said with a grin. He wanted to make this situation as light as possible but Hitomi didn't reply. Hitomi barely took a step forward when Shigure grabbed her arm.

"What, Shigure?" She asked.

"What is your problem? I thought you wanted to see your dad." She sighed in this exaggerated way as if she had to or else he wouldn't understand how agitated she currently was. However it had been written all over her face the moment they had left. "Maybe I was wrong earlier," Shigure said, letting go of her arm. "Maybe you don't need to do this. Personally I thought you wanted to see your dad but if you want this trip to be a waste—!"

"No. It's just... have you ever wondered if your parents would've been happy if you weren't born?"

His face took on a solemn expression as he thought about her words. "No, I haven't," he finally replied. "Then again, I never had a reason to... Did Minako say that she would?" It came as quickly as it had gone but he still caught the flicker in Hitomi's brown eyes. If Minako hadn't said it explicitly, she probably had hinted at it. The third possibility was that it was all in Hitomi's head. But he doubted that.

"If I wasn't born, chances are that my mom and my dad would have been together now. They could have had a normal child and the life they've always dreamed about if it wasn't for the curse. And I'm scared that once my dad sees me, he'll be reminded of that fact. But-!"

"You're hoping to fix that." It wasn't a question but a statement. Still, Hitomi nodded as if to assure him that was the case.

"I want to convince him to be a part of my mom's life again."

* * *

"**She said **_**Minako's**_** life, not hers. At the time, I thought nothing of it. Looking back now, I doubt she cared much about her father's approval of her."**

* * *

"That might be sort of difficult," he said. "You'll still the sheep of the zodiac."

"Yeah. But if I find a way to break the curse, I won't have to be."

He stared at her for a moment. "You think it's possible?"

"People have to leave a banquet at some point." At this, Shigure laughed. Hitomi folded her arms. "I was being serious."

"I know but it was such a dumb thing to say!"

"It's not like I'm lying," Hitomi huffed, clearly offended.

Shigure stopped laughing and looked at her. "Yeah but never every banquet is hosted by God."

"Not 'God'. An eight year old little girl." Hitomi closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, her way of calming herself down. "It's starting to get late. Do you want to try to see my dad one more time?"

Shigure knew that their patience with each other was probably starting to wear a bit thin. This was the longest time they had ever spent alone. The neutrality was bound to end at some point. "Let's go find your dad," he replied with a shrug. "According to the guy, he shouldn't be that far."

Hitomi started to walk off and Shigure ran to catch up to her. He wished that he knew what was running through her head. He knew there was the stress of confronting the man who had abandoned her and her mother weighing on her. He just didn't know how much.

After a few minutes of walking, they finally spotted a big green house. It was more of a forest green with a black-shingled rooftop. It was two stories tall and was definitely bigger than the previous house that Hitomi's father had lived in. It almost made Shigure wondered why Hitomi's father would want to move into a bigger house. It would only be emptier.

The dog of the zodiac looked at Hitomi only to find she was already heading across the street. Apparently she didn't want to waste time. "Wait up!" By the time he reached her, she had already rung the doorbell. "Wow, you sure aren't wasting time." Ignoring him, Hitomi pushed the doorbell a second time. "Hitomi."

"If I wait any longer, I'll begin to doubt myself." She was about to ring the doorbell a third time when they heard laughter coming around back. They listened again. Again, another laugh rang out. It clearly belonged to a man. "It's him..."

"How do you—!"

Hitomi took off for the side of the house and Shigure chased after her. Around back there was a stairs that led up to a second-story porch. Already, they could see a man up there, looking down into the backyard. If Hitomi had slowed down for just one second, maybe she would have seen that in the backyard was a woman playing with a small baby. Maybe then it would have clicked into place the way it did for Shigure.

This was the worst scenario possible. They had no business to intrude on this unsuspecting family. He tried to grab the back of Hitomi's shirt – anything for that matter – but missed. She just kept going with such speed and determination. "Hitomi!" He said in a hushed voice but she didn't hear him. She reached the top of the porch, making sure her presence was known.

The man turned around, surprised to see he had a visitor.

"Satoshi Saito?" Unlike the first time, there was no hesitance in her voice. She knew that the man staring back at her was indeed her father. Shigure reached the top when the obvious question was asked by Satoshi.

"...Who are you?"

"Hitomi Sohma, your daughter."

Shigure sighed in the background and looked down into the backyard. The woman was staring at unfolding scene in confusion and she had every right to. _There's nothing I can do now_, he thought as his brown eyes landed back on Hitomi. Once again, the tension had returned to the girl's body. But this time she didn't look nervous. Satoshi Saito stared back at Hitomi, his brown eyes almost mirroring hers in intensity. Shigure was amazed that Hitomi was still standing there so unnerved.

Finally Satoshi spoke. "I don't have a daughter."

Hitomi clenched her fists. "You're lying," she said, struggling to keep her voice from rising. "I can see in your eyes you know who I am."

"I have no daughter."

Shigure moved in and wrapped an arm around Hitomi's shoulders. He looked at Satoshi and saw the funny look he was giving them. Shigure leaned closer to Hitomi. "Let's get out of here," Shigure said in a low voice. "They probably wiped his memories." _Meaning that this whole trip was really a waste_, he thought. Well, not entirely. At least Hitomi could have said that she had tried to bring her father back but couldn't due to matters out of her hands. He kind of wished that Hitomi would realize that herself; she was just standing there, looking at Satoshi as if the situation would change. But it wouldn't; no one could undo the memory-loss procedure that Hatoshi's father performed.

"Hitomi," Shigure tried again.

"I understand now," Satoshi suddenly said out loud. "You must be one of those monsters."

Shigure's head snapped up at those words. _I guess his memories weren't wiped at all_, he bitterly thought. He could feel Hitomi trembling in her arms. From what, he wasn't sure, but his first guess would be anger. "What do you mean?" Shigure asked calmly.

"...That's why she's not transforming, right? Because you're like her?"

"Does it matter?" Shigure challenged.

Satoshi covered his mouth as if he was trying not to laugh. "I find it somewhat amusing. I got out of that place to never deal with this again. Yet here I am not only seeing one monster but two."

Originally Shigure had no plans to talk to Satoshi Saito. He had just thought Hitomi would do what she came to do and then the two could go back home. But that was no longer the case. While he had no major issues with Satoshi Saito at the start, the man was beginning to get under his skin. But that was the last thing Shigure would show on his face.

"I don't get it," Hitomi said quietly, stepping away from Shigure. "You love my mother, right? Even after my birth, you stayed for four years, didn't you?"

"Your point?"

"I know I'm not what you wanted but won't you come back for her sake? She..." Hitomi found whatever was left of her strength. "She misses you, Dad!"

She had used 'Dad' something that was saved for fathers who deserved it. Maybe Hitomi had believed that would break whatever wall Satoshi had around his heart. However he continued to stare at her unaffected, unmoved. The only emotion he seemed keen on showing her was detest. Shigure had expected something like this but not on this level. He reached out for Hitomi's arm but she pulled it away.

"Dad," she said. "Please."

"You look a lot like your mother," Satoshi said as if it had been on his mind for a while now. "It's actually quite sickening."

Shigure reached for Hitomi's arm again and this time, she allowed him to take hold. "Let's go. Forget about this bastard."

Satoshi laughed harshly. "Isn't that word more appropriate for Hitomi?"

Hitomi's eyes grew wide.

Shigure stopped in his tracks. Sure he wasn't Hitomi's closest friend nor did he like her that much. But even he knew this was unreasonable. Couldn't the man see that Hitomi was at her breaking point? Satoshi looked at him and Shigure narrowed his eyes warningly.

"Satoshi, what's going on?"

Shigure turned around and saw the woman who had been out in the backyard. She was clutching her baby tightly, worry etched onto her beautiful face as she stared at the three of them. Out of the three, only Shigure properly acknowledged her presence; Satoshi was still staring at his daughter and vice versa.

"Do you know who that is?" Satoshi asked. "It's my wife and in her arms is the child I've always wanted. Not some fucking monster of some bitch!"

And that was that. Shigure felt Hitomi slip through his grasp as she took off running for the stairs. Then Hitomi crashed into the woman. The baby flew out of the woman's arms and Shigure's eyes opened wide.

"My baby!"

Satoshi ran passed him. "Nori!"

* * *

"**Then Hitomi jumped after the baby. It was the first time she impressed me."**

* * *

Shigure ran to the stairs and stopped next to Satoshi and his wife. At the bottom of the stairs, the baby lied on the ground crying. Except for a few scratches, the little boy was okay. However, Hitomi was not in sight. In her stead were a pile of clothes and a black sheep. The sheep struggled to get up before it took off running down the street. Shigure pushed his way past the horrified couple. "Hitomi!" He grabbed her abandoned clothes and took off running, forgetting about Satoshi Saito and his family.

Shigure lost sight of Hitomi and slowed down at the street corner. "Dammit," he muttered, looking down both ways. "Where could she have gone?" He heard a dog barked loudly from across the street. Suddenly an idea struck him. He ran to the other side of the road. After making sure the coast was clear, the boy opened the gate and let the dog out. He got down on one knee and petted the dog. "I need a favor from you."

After getting a whiff of Hitomi's scent, the dog led him through the park that the two had passed an hour ago. _She ran through here?_ He thought. Maybe no one had noticed a running sheep; everyone he ran by seemed to be acting normal. The dog led him to a far corner of the park that was not as populated as the rest of the park. The dog went into some bushes and Shigure pushed the bushes aside. Behind an oak was Hitomi, crying the only way a sheep could.

Shigure sent the dog away and sat down next to Hitomi. He wasn't sure what to do or say. Instead he just waited and then a few minutes later, there was a 'poof!' He turned his back on her and held out her clothes. "I'm sorry," he said quietly over her sobs. "If you had gone with Hari or even Aya, things wouldn't have gotten this bad." The clothes were taken out of his hands and he silently sat as she put them on. _She probably hates me more than ever_, he thought wryly, trying to find some amusement in that idea.

"You forgot my shoes?"

Shigure paused for a moment and then stood up. "I'll go get them."

"It's oka-!"

"Don't worry. I won't take too long." He was about to take off but she grabbed the back of his shirt.

"I just want to go home, Shigure."

So that was what they did. They took the next train home and sat together in silence, looking out the window. They earned a few stares on the train, sometimes because Hitomi was shoeless, other times because Hitomi was silently crying. Shigure sat next to her, his brown eyes focused elsewhere. He had no idea of how to comfort her or to make her feel better. He thought about making a few jokes but chances were she would only get more upset.

They got off at their stop and started the walk back to Sohma house. Finally Shigure spoke. "How's your back? I forgot to ask about it earlier."

"...It's fine I guess."

"And the scrapes?"

"I'll manage."

"...If you don't mind me asking, why did you save the baby?" Hitomi stopped walking and Shigure turned around. He was almost worried that he had caused her to cry again but this time, she seemed okay. A little sad but still okay.

"I've done enough, haven't I?"

He stared at her. How he would have rather heard 'she hadn't been thinking' or even 'she had done it for the sake of the mother.' Sighing, he draped his arms over her shoulders and brought her nearer. It was the closest thing he was willing to give as embrace. "You shouldn't think something that stupid." He felt her unsteady breath on his neck and pressed her closer into him. What was this? Sympathy? Pity? Something in between?

"... Shigure?"

"Yeah?"

"I, um, I just want to say..." Her voice trailed off and then, without warning, she shoved him away. Shigure stumbled back and gave her a confused look. But then he noticed that her eyes were focused on something in the distance. He turned around and saw Minako standing about seven feet away. The woman's expression was dark compared to her usual motherly expression.

"Your father called, Hitomi," Minako said, taking a step forward. Her voice was quiet but deadly at the same time. It even had Shigure feeling a bit nervous.

"Mom, I'm-!"

"Sorry?" Minako finished.

"It wasn't Hitomi's fault," Shigure spoke up.

Minako looked at the dog of the zodiac. "Maybe it's best if you go home, Shigure. I would prefer to talk to my daughter alone."

Shigure didn't move. But then he heard Hitomi say: "I'll see you later, Shigure." He turned around and stared at Hitomi. She was giving him a pleading look as if she was asking him to go. And maybe she was. However, he didn't want to go unless he properly defended Hitomi first.

"Hitomi will see you later, Shigure," Minako said. Now there was four feet between them.

Shigure looked at the sheep and sighed. "Bye, Hitomi." With that, he walked passed Minako.

Hitomi hung her head. "Good bye, Shigure."

**A/N: So how was that? I'm hoping to develop Minako more in future chapters because she is important to the plot, more so in the second half. Thanks to Eboni J. Donahue and Knightgirl4Jack for reviewing and to those who have added this story to their favorites/alerts lists. Till later.**


	6. The Ascent: Surprise

**A/N: I updated quicker this time! Though I have to admit, this chapter is shorter than the last few. The next one will definitely be longer. Enjoy the update. :)**

**THE ASCENT: Surprise**

"I don't get why you want to do this," Hatori told Shigure as the Mabudachi Trio crossed the Sohma Estate.

Shigure flashed a grin. "Didn't you say I should be nicer to Hitomi?"

"But this? I'm not saying we shouldn't but you coming up with this? Out of all people?" Hatori's eyes flashed to the box Ayame was carrying, to the bag in Shigure's hands, and finally to the bag in his own hands. Ayame had the cake, Shigure was carrying the plates and utensils, and he had the soda. All because-

"Tomi's birthday is today!" Ayame exclaimed. "We should celebrate it with her!"

"I didn't even know it was today," Hatori said. "I'm surprised that you know about it Shigure."

"One of her friend's asked me about it," Shigure explained. "Usually Minako likes to have small parties for Hitomi but this year she allowed a few of Hitomi's friends to throw one for her. Of course, now that she's grounded..." Last weekend was the last time Shigure had seen Hitomi. She didn't show up at school during the week. That was why one of her friends approached him and asked if everything was alright with her. He had said 'yes' but he knew that wasn't true. Today's trip to her house was more than wishing her happy birthday; he wanted to make sure she was okay.

"What happened last weekend, Shigure?" Hatori asked.

"Hm?" Shigure looked over his shoulder at his friend. "What are you talking about?"

"After we came back from the beach, my dad had to go deal with a small emergency," he explained. "Something to do with Hitomi's father."

"What makes you think I know something?"

"You went to dentist Saturday morning but you were free all afternoon," he stated matter-of-factly. "You could have been involved and this is some kind of guilt trip."

Ayame looked between Hatori and Shigure. "Is that true, Gure?"

"...No. It's not."

Hatori raised an eyebrow but didn't question Shigure any further. Shigure was actually glad.

They finally reached Hitomi's house. Under normal circumstances, they would ring the doorbell by the front door. But not this time. The Mabudachi Trio was certain that Minako wouldn't make any exceptions about visitors. So they carefully sneaked around back.

"Do you know which window is hers, Shigure?" Hatori asked, looking at the second floor windows.

The dog of the zodiac looked at a nearby tree. "I'm about to find out." Shigure walked over to the tree, slipped the handle of the bag he was carrying up his arm, and started to climb up. He had never tried climbing a tree before so it took him a while to know what he was looking for: footholds, easy places he could grab on tightly. Eventually he reached the bottommost branch and from there it was easy. He got to a good height and peered into the adjacent window. Lucky for him, inside the room was Hitomi, lying on her bed. He could hear faint music playing, probably some girly song.

"Is she there?" Ayame exclaimed quietly. "You're not being a peeping tom, are you, Gure?"

Ignoring Ayame, Shigure carefully made his way across the branch and knocked on Hitomi's window. The girl bolted up and looked at him. He waited as she got off her bed and made her way to the window. Finally she opened the window. "What are you doing here?" She whispered.

"Surprise," he grinned, holding the bag of utensils for her to see.

"Huh?"

"Happy Birthday, Hitomi!" Ayame said from below in a hushed yell.

Hitomi looked down and saw the remainder of the Mabudachi Trio. As his greeting, Hatori gave her a small wave. She smiled before looking at Shigure. "You do know I'm still grounded, right? And that I'm not allowed to have any visitors?"

"I do," he replied as he climbed into her room.

"Then why are you here?"

He stood up straight next to her and looked into her waiting brown eyes. It had never occurred to him before Hatori had mentioned it today. Maybe he did feel a little guilty about what had happened. But he didn't want to tell her that. He gave her a tiny smirk. "Well, to be honest, I missed your pretty face."

"Sure you did."

"Hey, Gure."

Shigure looked at the window and saw that both of his friends had made it to the branch. Ayame extended the box to him. "Hari said you should take it before I drop it."

"Please do," Hatori said. He leaned forward to peer around Ayame and saw Hitomi standing there. "We got your favorite," he told her. "Strawberry."

"How did you know-!"

"Hari asked a few classmates at school," Ayame chirped up.

Hitomi blushed and looked at the floor. Apparently staring at Hatori any longer would probably cause her to faint from embarrassment. She pressed her two index fingers together and said, "Thank you, Hari."

* * *

"**I think Hari was starting to like her. It wasn't obvious then but looking back at it..."**

* * *

Hatori looked away from Hitomi's beaming face as Ayame climbed into the room. "This was all Shigure's idea," he admitted as he carefully scooted his way across the branch to the window. "He's the one you should be thanking."

"Really?" Hitomi looked at Shigure and tilted her head to the side. Just like Hatori, she was trying to put a reason as to why he would bother. However, she didn't ask him straight out. Instead she gave him a small, unsure smile. "Thanks, Shigure." She headed to her bedroom door and turned the lock. She then turned around and saw that everyone was in the room. "We can be quiet for the next thirty minutes, right?"

* * *

"**We were pretty quiet."**

* * *

Once again, Hitomi buried her face into a nearby pillow, trying her hardest to muffle her laughs. Hatori covered his mouth and looked away from the group while Shigure lied on his back as he died of silent laughter. No one knew how Ayame could keep a straight face while he told his story; everyone's sides were hurting them. All Ayame did was smile as he concluded it. "And that is why I will never do that again!"

Hatori glanced at the clock on Hitomi's dresser. "I think we should go."

"Already?" Ayame said sadly. "It feels like we just got here."

"We got here forty-five minutes ago," Hatori replied. He quickly went around the room, taking any evidence of their visit. He started to put all the used plates, forks, and dirty napkins into one bag.

Shigure got off the floor. "We should go before Minako wants to see what Hitomi's up to."

Ayame looked at Hitomi. "You're coming to school Monday, right?" When Hitomi nodded, the snake of the zodiac tackled her into a hug. "Great," Ayame whispered into her ear, "because we were all getting a little worried. Even Gure."

Shigure heard his cousin but acted like he hadn't. Hitomi's eyes were on him and he didn't want her to read his expression. Instead he focused on Hatori as he finished packing everything.

"Let's go," Hatori said as he opened the window. He picked up a bag, leaving the cake and the other bag for whoever wanted to carry them. He stepped onto the window sill before looking at the birthday girl. "Take care, Hitomi."

"You, too," Hitomi said as she watched Hatori leave the room. Aya grabbed the other bag and stuck a foot out of her window.

"Bye, Tomi," Ayame said.

"Bye," Hitomi said as the silver-haired teen disappeared as well. Her brown eyes landed on Shigure, the last of the Mabudachi Trio to leave. She noticed that he was slow picking up the cake and even slower as he walked toward the window. "Shigure?"

He stopped and looked at her.

"Not like I care or anything," Hitomi started, as if she needed to make that clear, "but is something bothering you?"

"Kinda."

"Is it about last weekend?"

"Yeah."

She inhaled deeply as she quickly thought it over. "Look, whatever happened is nothing you should worry about. It's not your fault."

"Well, actually, that's not what's on my mind."

"Oh?"

Shigure averted his gaze. "You do realize you owe me a favor, right?"

She stared at him as if she wasn't sure to yell or accept that. Then she sighed. It could be worst, right? "What do you want from me?"

The doorknob rattle and the two teens froze in place. "Hitomi!" Minako's voice came through the wood loud and clear.

"See you Monday, right?" Shigure whispered as he quickly headed to the window. He barely heard Hitomi's reply as he made his way out her window. However, he could hear Minako saying her daughter's name a second and third time. "Hatori," he said in a hushed tone. The dragon looked up with alarm. Without missing a beat, he dropped the box and Hatori caught it. Shigure supposed that his best friends understood the expression on his face because they started to take off. He spared a glance at Hitomi.

"Go," she mouthed at him before yelling, "Just a second, mom."

As much as Shigure wanted to hide in the bushes and see if Minako would come to the window, he took off the moment his feet touched the ground.

**A/N: Thanks to Eboni J. Donahue and Knightgirl4Jack for reviewing. Next chapter, Akito will appear. Should be interesting. Till later.**


	7. The Ascent: Akito

**A/N: I'm sorry for the long wait! I didn't even realize it would have taken this long. At first I was stuck. I knew I wanted Akito to make her appearance but I didn't know how. I had thought of Akito asking for the older zodiac members to meet her but that didn't make much sense in my mind. So I came up with this. Akito will be referred to as a 'she' in the overall story because this story is a look into Shigure's memories. However, Shigure (in bold) will be referring to Akito as a 'he' because in this point of time, Tohru and the others don't know that Akito is a woman yet. Hope that makes sense. Enjoy. **

**THE ASCENT: Akito**

"Isn't this such a nice day?" Aya asked, sipping on his cup of iced tea.

"Indeed it is, Aya," Shigure replied. He put his cup down on the step next to him. "It's good to be with friends and Hitomi."

Hatori looked at the dog, raising an eyebrow. "Was that necessary, Shigure?"

Shigure smiled. "Yes—Ow!"

Hitomi drank her iced tea like nothing had happened.

It was only mid-April. Everything was normal again. Homework was piling up, no thanks to the teachers. But now that Hitomi had returned to school, Shigure had a third person to get answers from. Speaking of which, he had yet to start his homework. However he didn't want to pass up the opportunity to chill on his home's front steps with the others. They hadn't skipped a beat after school ended. They came straight to Shigure's house, not bothering to change out of their school uniforms. Even though Shigure had the option of changing into something more comfortable, he didn't want to use up the time he could use to hang out with his relatives. Even if Hitomi got upset for no reason.

Shigure looked at Hitomi from the corner of his eye. Recently she had cut hair. It barely reached her shoulders now and her bangs were almost nonexistent. She had said that she wanted a new look. However, he was sure it had something to do with her father saying about how she looked like Minako.

Hitomi caught him staring and he quickly looked away.

"Class elections are in a few weeks," Ayame said. "Are any of you running?"

"Nope," Shigure replied. "Too much work."

"Are you thinking about it, Ayame?" Hatori asked.

"I was thinking about being student council president," Ayame said. "It should be fun, right? Hari, want to be my VP?"

"... I'll think about it."

"Maybe I'll aim for something on the student council, too," Hitomi said.

"I doubt the student council is as exciting as you all make it seem." If all three were elected, Shigure would be the only one who wouldn't be involved in the student council. That meant he would be spending his school-day afternoons alone. That was a depressing thought but at least he wouldn't have to worry about that for another few weeks.

Someone came running around the corner of the house and the four teens looked. There was the rooster of the zodiac, slightly out of breath and clearly anxious about something. Kureno waited to catch his breath before asking, "Have any of you seen Akito?"

Hatori's eyebrows furrowed together. "Akito's missing?"

* * *

"**Akito had been sick only a couple of days ago and at the time, he shouldn't be straying far from the main house. So him missing was a bit problematic."**

* * *

Kureno shuffled his feet around, hanging his head. "Akito hasn't been outside for a while so I thought it would be nice for her to get some fresh air. But when I went back inside to get something, she disappeared. I thought maybe she would come here."

"Makes sense," Hitomi casually commented, sipping her drink. Like expected, she clearly didn't mind the head of the Sohma Household running around and getting herself in trouble. Her brown eyes landed on Shigure. She smiled at him, almost mockingly. "She seems to really like Shigure."

Shigure smiled back. "Who doesn't?" Shigure knew Hitomi was referring to all the times Akito had wanted to talk to him. It wasn't that Akito particularly liked him. She paid the similar amounts of attention to Kureno, Hatori, and Ayame. It was just that Akito didn't seem fond of the female zodiac members, especially Hitomi.

It wasn't simply a case of the feeling being mutual. Hitomi didn't like Akito because she was God, the one who made the curse and the one she blamed for their current predicaments. Akito didn't like Hitomi because she was older and therefore harder to control. The strong dislike was a strange thing, considering the two hardly saw each other.

Kureno looked up. "Actually," he said, nervously looking at Hitomi. "I was thinking that Akito might be looking for you."

She frowned. "Why?" When Kureno shrugged, the sheep went back to being disinterested about the situation. At least she tried to.

"Does the main house know?" Hatori asked.

Kureno shook his head. "Not yet."

"There's no need to get them involved," Ayame said, standing up almost instantly. He put his cup down and gave Kureno a big smile. "We'll gladly help you, Kureno!"

"We will?" All eyes went to Hitomi. She cleared her throat. "I don't mean to sound inconsiderate but if Akito wants to run away, shouldn't we let her? We'd probably be better off anyway."

There was a moment of silence. Then Hatori spoke. "You didn't mean to but that what it was." Hitomi's eyes widened in shock but Hatori didn't buckle. He turned away from Hitomi and looked at the others. "We'll split into groups. Kureno, take Shigure and Ayame with you. Me and Hitomi will look around together."

"I would rather go with Shigure," Hitomi muttered.

Shigure raised an eyebrow. She was choosing him over Hatori? Then it hit him. Even though she was hiding it well, she had taken Hatori's comment to heart. This was her way of getting back at Hatori. It was a little disappointing.

"I need to talk to you, Hitomi," the dragon of the zodiac said.

Hitomi glanced at Shigure before she finally got up from the front steps, abandoning her drink. "Fine but my mom will be home in hour. If we don't find Akito by then, I'm leaving."

Hatori sighed as she walked off. He looked back at his relatives. "We'll meet up in thirty minutes." He then hurried after Hitomi.

* * *

"I wonder why Hatori wanted to be alone with Hitomi so badly," Kureno said as he, Shigure, and Ayame headed in the opposite direction. Originally, they had thought of staying close to the houses in the estate but then figured that the gardens and open areas would be their best bets. Kureno looked back at Shigure and Ayame. "They're not dating are they?"

Ayame shook his head. "Hatori doesn't show it but he worries a lot about Hitomi."

Shigure nearly stopped in his tracks. "Really?" He asked.

Ayame nodded. "Well, Hari is a caring person so even if him and Tomi aren't particularly close, he wouldn't ignore her. And after what happened a couple of weekends ago..."

"I told you I wasn't there, Aya," Shigure said. Kureno stopped walking and Shigure nearly bumped into him. "Is something wrong?"

Kureno pointed in a direction. "There's a place over there that Akito likes. Maybe she's there."

"Lead the way," Ayame said, giving Kureno an after-you gesture. Kureno moved on ahead.

The rooster of the zodiac led them through another garden, this one full of pink roses, red camellias, and white hydrangeas. Shigure could see why anyone would like this particular area. It smelled oddly nice and the scenery was almost calming in a way. The garden opened up into a clearing. In the middle was Akito, picking a camellia.

"There you are, Akito," Kureno said, clearly relieved. "We were looking all over for you."

Akito turned around and looked at the three zodiac members. She didn't speak.

"We need to go back to the main house, Akito." Kureno took a step toward Akito but she stepped back.

"Where's Hitomi?" Akito asked. Her dark eyes moved from Kureno to Ayame and Shigure. "She was with you, right?" From the sound of her voice, it seemed that she expected them to answer yes.

Ayame took a step forward. "Hitomi was but then she went elsewhere to look for you," he replied. "She'll be glad to know you're okay." Actually, Hitomi would most likely be disappointed but no one was going to correct the snake.

"I'll wait for Hitomi to come."

"Why do you want to see Hitomi so bad?" Shigure asked gently.

Akito, instead of answering the question, asked one of her own. "I heard you and Hitomi spent the whole day together two weeks ago. Is that true?"

Shigure laughed again, feeling Ayame's eyes on him. He knew what Akito was talking about. It was the very thing that he hadn't wanted to share with Ayame and Hatori. No wonder Akito seemed eager to see Hitomi. "It was just a friendly outing, that's all."

There were the sounds of grass crunching behind them. Shigure and the others turned around, seeing Hatori and Hitomi coming around a rosebush. "There you are," Hatori said. "It was passed half an hour so we came looking for you."

"And you found Akito, too," Hitomi added, staring at the child with none of the happiness Ayame had spoke of. "I guess you should take her back to the main house, Kureno. A few of the elders already asked if we had seen you and Akito."

"Oh, um, right." Kureno turned toward Akito. "We should go now." The young boy walked toward the head of the household and reach for her hand. However, Akito pulled away.

"I want to talk to Hitomi."

Kureno looked back at the sheep, silently pleading for her to oblige. Hitomi clearly didn't want to but Hatori squeezed Hitomi's shoulder and whispered something into her ear. Shigure didn't know what the dragon said but it got Hitomi moving. The teenage girl took quick, large steps closing the distance in seconds. She stooped down to Akito's eye level. "What is it?"

Akito stared into Hitomi's brown eyes. "Your father... What did he say to you?"

"Excuse me?" Hitomi's voice had been even but Shigure could guess what was going through her mind. He had been by her side when her father had run his mouth off. He had seen her reaction, every emotion fleeting across her face, how she had finally broken down. While she didn't show it, she was probably fuming. _Please don't lash out against, Akito_, he thought.

Akito continued watching Hitomi's face. "He called you a monster, right? Unwanted? Sickening-!"

"Is that all, Akito?" Hitomi asked. Akito didn't say a word and Hitomi got up. "Then I'll see you later." She started walking away. She only stopped to look at the Mabudachi Trio. "Can we go back now? I only have half an hour before my mom gets home."

Shigure looked at Akito. Akito had been trying to find the one thing to use against Hitomi, the one thing that could be held over her but no such luck. Hitomi was harder to crack than Akito had believed. Shigure gave Akito an apologetic look but Akito only glared at him. _I forgot. Akito thinks I'm Hitomi's accomplice in all this._

"Gure," Ayame said. "Are you coming?"

"Yeah, I am." Shigure started to walk off to meet the others. But he didn't get too far when Akito spoke up.

"You and your mother are disgraces to the Sohmas." Everyone looked at Akito, including Hitomi. Akito's dark eyes focused on his target. "Everyone says that. They also say that the only reason they put up with you is because you're the sheep. If you weren't, you two would be out on the streets. Is that right, Hitomi?" The head of the house looked complacent, almost pleased with herself. She had gotten a solid reaction from Hitomi. She watched as the sheep clenched and unclenched her fists, knowing well that Hitomi would never hit her.

Kureno touched Akito's shoulder gently. "You shouldn't say such things, Akito. It's not nice."

"They're not lies," the child said, eying Hitomi. "I heard that Minako hates Hitomi, too, because she ruined her life."

Hitomi walked back toward Akito and Kureno. Kureno gave her a worried look but Hitomi shook her head. The Mabudachi Trio moved in, just in case Hitomi tried something really stupid. If she struck Akito, nothing could save her from the main house's wrath.

Hitomi put her hands on her knees and got close to Akito's face. "My father said that the sight of me was sickening but do you know what's more so? A foolish little child who knows nothing." Akito's eyes grew wide but Hitomi kept the same blank stare as she continued.

"These 'bonds' you're so fond of mean nothing. They can't keep us here forever. They don't make us adore you. If anything, they only make us hate you." Hitomi leaned even closer. "In the end-"

* * *

"'**-You will always be alone.' Five words yet that were all she needed to set Akito off. Devaluing the bonds between the zodiac members and God isn't something you'd do casually. But Hitomi didn't care. It was the result she was going for."**

* * *

"You stupid Sheep! You think you know everything, don't you?"

"Akito." Kureno was struggling to hold Akito back. "Please you need to stop."

Akito didn't listen. She was trying to break free from Kureno, her eyes wild with anger and hurt. "You don't know anything! You don't!"

Hitomi stood there, her left cheek flaming red. She didn't say anything. She didn't do anything either. She just watched Akito scream, trying to get her. Finally Akito broke free. She ran toward Hitomi but Hatori grabbed the little girl within seconds of her escape.

Hatori looked up. "Hitomi, leave."

"Why?"

Shigure didn't think it was possible but Hitomi looked ready to argue with Hatori now. And Akito was still screaming in Hatori's arms. This afternoon had gone from good to bad in under an hour. He glanced at Ayame. The snake seemed to be sharing his sentiments as well. They weren't sure if they should get involved. Things seemed chaotic as it was.

Akito screamed, "You stupid, stupid-!" Suddenly she broke into a coughing fit. In that moment, the head of the household had went from rampant to fragile. The little girl was no longer screaming but trying to find the end to her sudden coughing.

Hatori's grip on Akito lessened. He turned to Hitomi. "Leave. _Now_."

"Fine!" Hitomi yelled. Her eyes went to Akito but they didn't hold any sympathy. She turned away and ran off.

Ayame made a move to go after the sheep but Shigure stopped him. "She'll get over it," he said. "Besides, Akito wouldn't take it well if we left her for Hitomi."

* * *

Shigure was back on his front steps again, this time with Akito by his side. Hitomi was probably back home by now. Ayame and Hatori were probably at their homes as well, doing their homework. He would go work with one of them but Akito wanted to talk. Kureno had insisted on taking her back to the main house but she refused to go until she had spoken with Shigure. That had been about ten minutes ago, five minutes since they reached his house. So far Akito had yet to say a word. "Would you like some iced tea?" Shigure asked, hoping to break the silence.

"...Do you like her?"

"If I say yes, would you be jealous?"

"I'm the one asking questions."

Shigure sighed. "I don't and she doesn't like me either."

"Then why did you go with her?"

He smiled. "I have my reasons." He wasn't going to say it was because he wanted her to owe him for something. He wasn't quite sure what it would be but eventually something would come to mind. Even if he would ask her to return the favor months from now. "Do you like Hitomi, Akito?"

"I hate her."

"Hitomi isn't that bad." Shigure remembered when Hitomi had jumped after her baby half-brother. "She can be... nice when she wants to. Emphasis on the 'wants to' part but when she is, she can also be selfless. Maybe even a little brave."

Akito stared at Shigure. "I thought you didn't like her."

"Just because I don't like her doesn't mean I can't say what's good about her."

Akito stood up. "That makes no sense."

"No?" Shigure asked, feigning innocence. He couldn't help but a smile a little. "And here I was, thinking that it did." He knew it was contradictory. How could you not like someone who was as good as you said they were? In his case, saying that he could 'tolerate' Hitomi would probably only get Akito more upset. Besides, he was almost sure that the 'like' Akito meant was in the romantic sense. Shigure scratched his head at the idea. Now that he thought about it, Hitomi wasn't _too_ bad looking—

"I'm going home," Akito announced.

Shigure came back to reality. "Should I walk you?"

"I'll be fine." And just like that, the head of the household left.

Shigure got up from his frontsteps and stretched. With nothing else to do, he guessed he should start his homework. He was about to head inside when he saw someone standing off to the side of his home. He stared. "Hitomi?" While he wasn't disappointed to see her, he wasn't thrilled either. "Isn't Minako home?"

"I snuck out." She carefully approached him, her eyes focusing on the direction Akito had left. After determining the coast was clear, her brown eyes looked at Shigure. "What did Akito say?"

"Nothing you need to know," Shigure replied.

She glared at him. When he didn't budge, she sighed. "I bet Hatori thinks I'm an awful person."

"Somewhat... You kind of deserved getting hit."

"Hmph." Hitomi looked at the ground and started kicking a rock around half-heartedly, as if she was considering what he was saying. After a while, she sighed and stopped what she was doing. "I'm usually not that awful, you know."

Shigure sat back down and after a moment, Hitomi joined him. Their eyes met briefly and Shigure could tell that Akito's words had affected her. "Minako doesn't really hate you, does she? I mean, I'm pretty sure she's not thrilled about you but, um, she just seems normal when you two are around people."

Hitomi gave a faint smile. "Our relationship... it's complicated. I ruined my mom's life but despite that, she has tried to take care of me. It's just not easy for her. That's why I went to get my father. I owed her that."

"Wow," Shigure said with a smile. "What I told Akito is true then. You are selfless." He looked at Hitomi. She was staring at him with her mouth ajar. The sight made him smile even more. "What's wrong Hitomi?"

Blushing, she turned away. "Nothing. I just don't like owing people. That's why I did it."

"In that case, I can expect you to pay me back when the time is right?"

"Whenever you make up your mind." She got up and jumped down the steps. "I should go now. Before my mom notices I'm gone."

"You don't want any iced tea before you go?"

She laughed a bit, shaking her head. "For someone who doesn't like me, you really don't want me to go, do you?" His face turned red and she began to laugh again. As she laughed, it seemed like she didn't have a care in the world. That was the hardest laugh for her to get and unfortunately it was one of the few times when she seemed the brightest. "I don't hate you, Shigure, and I don't dislike you either. You can just be annoying sometimes."

Shigure scratched the back of his head. "I guess you could call me worse."

"I could," she conceded. "But you don't deserve it... If I see Akito, I think I'll apologize to her."

Shigure stood up but he didn't leave his front steps. A light breeze came by, causing the blooming cherry blossom trees to sway. He looked briefly at the trees before looking down at Hitomi. "If you do, I'm sure Hatori won't think so badly of you." He expected her to ask him if that was true or something else relating to Hatori, but what she said surprised him.

"Do you really think I'm selfless, Shigure?" They stared at each other. They could both feel the awkward tension in the air growing thicker and thicker. After a moment or two of struggling to breathe, Shigure headed for his house. She frowned. "Where are you going?"

"See you tomorrow, Hitomi," he said cheerfully as he opened his front door.

"Hey! Don't you dare-!"

Shigure slammed the door behind him. He leaned against it and stared off into space, waiting for the obnoxious thudding in his chest to stop.

* * *

"**I wanted to play it off like I did it to annoy her. Why should this time be different from any other time? But I knew that wasn't quite right. I ran away because for the first time she chose me over Hatori. It kind of made me feel uncomfortable. I know that doesn't make a whole lot of sense but when you think of everything that happened before that..."**

* * *

Shigure peeked out the window and saw that Hitomi had left. He stood there for a bit, thinking of what had just happened. He remembered how she had laughed and poked fun at him, how easily the color rose to her cheeks when she had been embarrassed. He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "This is going to be a problem."

**A/N: Thanks to AikoRose and MaoOshiro for their reviews and to those who added this story to their favorites/alerts. I hope to update a lot sooner next time. Next chapter will be student council elections. Till later.**


	8. The Ascent: The Election, Pt 1

**A/N: Happy New Year! It's been so long since I last updated but I'm glad that people are still stumbling upon my story. Some of these are overdue but thanks to z dream, James Birdsong, Lotta Devon, GotenLover91, cherryblosson014, and BasketFruit for reviewing and those who added this story to their alerts/favorites list. And a special thanks to my friend Knightgirl4Jack for proofreading this. **_**The Election**_** is divided into three parts. I'm currently working on the third, which means that the second part will be up sometime next week. Till then and enjoy the new chapter. :)**

**THE ASCENT: The Election, Pt 1**

The second to last class for the day was about to begin. Shigure and Ayame sat in the back of the classroom. Next to Shigure was an empty desk. It was supposed to be where Hatori would sit but the boy had taken his assigned seat. Hatori was one of the few who did. There would be a substitute teacher for history today and many students wanted to take advantage of the opportunity, particularly of the seat arrangement.

"If we beg, do you think Hatori will sit with us?" Ayame asked.

"You know, Hatori," Shigure said. "He's always one to follow the rules."

Shigure saw Hitomi walked into the classroom, looking very confused by the seating rearrangement.

"Tomi!" Ayame yelled. Everyone looked at him. Still he grinned cheerfully. "Come sit with me and Gure!"

Shigure started laughing nervously. "Aya, what are you doing?" He asked as Hitomi slowly walked over.

"Inviting Hitomi over, of course," Ayame said. He looked at Shigure, quickly seeing how forced his smile was. "I thought you liked Hitomi."

"It's complicated."

Ayame frowned. "How so?" He looked up and nearly jumped. Hitomi was right in front of them.

"Hi," she said awkwardly. Her brown eyes quickly flashed over to Shigure before focusing on Ayame again. "Why isn't everyone in their assigned seats?"

"We have a sub," Ayame said.

"Oh," she said. She looked over her shoulder toward the front of the room. "Why isn't Hari sitting with you?"

"He wants to be a good student," Shigure explained.

"I see." She turned around. "Let me try and get my seat back."

"You can sit here!" Ayame said, pointing at the empty desk next to Shigure.

Hitomi looked around the room and saw that only one other seat was available in the classroom. She slid into the seat next to Shigure, putting her school bag on the floor. They looked at each other. Hitomi gave him a small smile before looking away.

* * *

"**Hitomi didn't want to sit next to me but sitting next to me was the lesser of two 'evils.' The only other available seat was next to Hari and after what happened with Akito, the two hadn't spoken to each other since."**

* * *

Just as the bell rang, the substitute teacher walked in. The sub was a tall, handsome man. He looked a little disheveled but he didn't look strict. He put his briefcase on the teacher's desk and quickly shuffled through it, pulling out a few folders. He looked up and beamed. "Hello, everyone. I'm Mr. Iwamoto. Now let's see what was left for you." He began looking through the folders.

"Hitomi," Shigure whispered. The sheep of the zodiac tore her eyes away from Hatori and looked at him. "If you want to talk to him-!"

"I don't," she quickly whispered back.

"Did you try apologizing to Akito?" He asked in a hushed voice.

Hitomi sighed and looked back at the substitute teacher. He was still sorting through today's material. "I tried, Shigure."

The substitute teacher held up a piece of paper. "I found the class list. Let's get through role call quickly." He looked at the piece of paper and then at the class. He frowned just a bit. Shigure guessed that the class arrangement looked off to the sub, especially with girls sitting where boys were supposed to be and vice versa. Still the man didn't say anything about it. "Akiyama Tokio."

"Present!"

Hitomi looked back at Shigure. "Akito didn't accept it."

"And that's why you're avoiding Hatori?"

"Of course not." She faced front again and Shigure did the same. But out of the corner of his eye, he watched her rip a piece of paper and scribbled something fast onto it. She tossed it onto his desk. Slowly he opened it. _It's just that I really like him and I feel like I screwed that up. _He stared at the paper for a moment. He didn't understand why it bothered him. This wasn't new information. Yet this was the first time Hitomi admitted it.

There was a crackle over the loud speaker. Ayame suddenly seemed very ecstatic. "They're finally announcing who's running for student council!"

Shigure remembered being asked by several people to sign their petitions, including Hatori and Ayame. The students who really wanted to run were making the election out to be a big deal. Shigure didn't see how being on the student council would make a difference in anyone's life. If anything, it took up a good chunk of it.

"These are your candidates for the student council. For treasurer, Hitomi Sohma..."

Shigure ignored the last two names and looked at Hitomi. "You're running, too?"

The girl nodded. "I told you I might."

Shigure was listening to the announcement now, to see if anyone else he knew was running. He didn't know the students running for Internal Affairs Secretary and External Affairs Secretary. However, he did know one of the people running for Vice President. "For Vice President, Fujita Katsu and Sohma Hatori.

"And finally, for Student Council President, your candidates are Ayame Sohma and Akemi Suzuki!"

Hitomi's eyes widened. "Akemi Suzui?"

Shigure looked at the sheep of the zodiac. "Is something wrong?"

"Akemi Suzuki is a third year," Hitomi explained after class. Shigure, Ayame, and Hitomi were standing in the hallway, not too far from their classroom. "Usually third years don't run because of entrance exams but I should have known that wouldn't stop her."

"So she's that terrible of a person?"

Ayame didn't look too sure about that. "She's – what would you say, Hitomi?"

"A witch," Hitomi said too confidently.

Shigure looked to his side and saw Hatori watching them awkwardly. He looked at Hitomi and then back at Hatori. There was only one thing he could do in this situation. "Hari!" Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hitomi stiffened. "Why are you all the way over there? Join us!"

Hitomi suddenly mentioned something about getting to PE on time but Shigure grabbed her arm. "Not yet," he said under his breath, still smiling.

"Let go," she muttered.

Before she could protest, Shigure pulled her back to him and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pinning her to his side. Hatori stopped walking and gave them a funny look. Ayame nodded thoughtfully. "Gure, you sly dog," he said. "I should have known you and Hitomi have been 'going steady'."

"We have not!" Hitomi exclaimed, freeing herself from Shigure. The bell suddenly rang. "I can't believe I'm late," Hitomi said, biting her lip.

"No worries," Ayame said. "It's only P.E."

Hitomi stared at him in disbelief. Apparently being late was more detrimental for her than it was for them. She looked at Ayame and Shigure, avoiding eye contact with Hatori. "I'll see you in class," she said, taking off.

Ayame looked at Hitomi before turning toward Hatori. "Are you and Tomi fighting?"

"We haven't been talking for the last couple of weeks," Hatori replied. Hatori looked at Shigure. He seemed a bit sad. "Did Hitomi tell you anything?"

"Yeah, she did," Shigure said.

"I guess that makes sense," Hatori thought out loud. "You two have been talking a lot."

Shigure rubbed the back of his neck. "You did see her explode about me and her dating, right?" He asked, trying to brighten the mood. "We talk just because...because..."

"Because you like her, Gure?" Ayame guessed.

The three boys stood there in silence. Finally Shigure laughed. "Don't be silly, Aya. Let's go to class." Shigure started to walk away but he soon stopped. "You know, she does like you Hari. She'll only avoid you for so long."

"Are you sure?" Hatori asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure."

"Well, that's good," Ayame said. "I need to beat Akemi and I doubt I can do it without yours and Hitomi's help."

"We can work on your campaign after school," Hatori suggested.

"Can someone explain to me what's the big deal with Akemi?" Shigure asked. "All I got from Hitomi was that she was a witch."

* * *

According to Hatori, Akemi was full of herself, had this feeling of self-entitlement, and didn't care who she stepped on. She was quick to shut down other ideas if her personal interests were at stake. Yet, despite her faults, she was extremely popular with her graduating class and she even had the support of the new students. Hatori explained that overall Akemi wasn't a terrible person. She was smart and she was good at whatever job she took.

Still, even if he didn't think Akemi was too bad, Hatori was determined to make sure Ayame won. The same went with Hitomi. So after school, Shigure called Hitomi to ask if he and Ayame could come over and work on Ayame's campaign. She had said yes but that was probably because she didn't know Hatori would be joining them.

"Are you sure about this?" Hatori asked as the trio headed to Hitomi's house.

"Hitomi won't turn you away," Shigure said.

"If anything," Ayame said, "She'll probably attack Shigure for tricking her."

Shigure laughed nervously. "You think?"

They reached her front door. Shigure looked at his two best friends before knocking loudly on the door. After a few moments, the door swung open, revealing Hitomi. Hitomi almost cracked a smile but then she saw Hatori. Immediately she gave Shigure a dirty look.

"You don't mind Hatori being here, right?" Shigure grinned.

Hitomi narrowed her eyes at Shigure. Before she could speak up, Hatori stepped forward. "What happened the other day, with the Akito thing," he started, trying his hardest not to look away from her, "I want to say sorry for upsetting you, Hitomi."

Hitomi's eyes widened. She apparently hadn't expected an apology from Hatori and he still had more to say.

"If you want me to leave, I understand," he told her. "But I just want to-!"

"You can stop." Hitomi leaned against the doorway and sighed. She was the one who broke eye contact. "You don't have to apologize."

"But-!"

"It's okay." Hitomi shuffled her feet a bit. "You were right."

Ayame wrapped an arm around each of their shoulders and pulled them in. "I'm glad you two worked this out. We have to work together to make this the best student council ever and if you two weren't talking, how was that going to work?"

"It wasn't going to work," Hatori said, raising an eyebrow.

"Exactly!" Ayame looked at Shigure. "Gure, I'll mention how you helped me achieve victory in my acceptance speech!"

"No need, Aya," Shigure said. The dog of the zodiac maneuvered his way around Hitomi and got passed the entrance. "The bathroom is this way, right, Hitomi?" He asked, pointing down the hallway.

She nodded. "On your right."

"Thanks."

* * *

"**I thought I did pretty good. I got Hitomi and Hari talking to each other again. Hari seemed happy. I thought Hitomi was, too. But I guess I should've known she would be a bit more difficult to please."**

* * *

Shigure nearly jumped when he opened the bathroom door and saw Hitomi standing outside. She was looking right at him, her arms folded across her chest, her brown eyes scrutinizing. He stepped away from the bathroom door, thinking that she had to go. However, she didn't budge from her position on the wall.

"Why do you keep doing this?" She finally asked, sounding a bit upset. "I told you already that I don't like owing people."

"Oh yeah," Shigure said, recalling that moment. "So is that two favors you owe me now?"

Hitomi rolled her eyes. "I didn't ask for your help, you know."

"True," Shigure admitted with a shrug. "But you wanted to talk to Hatori again. I just wanted to give you what you wanted."

She frowned. "Is that supposed to be a joke?"

Shigure's heart irritatingly thumped in his chest as she stared intensely at him. What was he supposed to say to that? Yes? No? Maybe? All of those choices seemed like bad reasons for different reasons. How was he supposed to admit to things he hadn't even come to terms with? Looking at her became too much and he quickly focused down the hallway. At the other end of the hallway, Hitomi's mother stood there watching them. Now Minako was giving him a dirty look.

"Well?" Hitomi reiterated, poking him in the chest. She easily had his attention again.

"I think your mom wants you for something," he said in a hush voice.

"My mom?" She looked down the hallway and saw her mom. "Oh. Hi."

The corner of Minako's mouth twitched. "Your cookies are done."

"Great," Hitomi said, leaving Shigure and heading toward the kitchen. "I'll go get them then." She walked past her mother but stopped when she noticed Minako hadn't stirred from her spot. "Mom?"

"Go ahead, Hitomi," Minako said. "I want to talk to Shigure for a minute."

Shigure looked back and forth between the mother and daughter. _Did Minako hear all that? _He cleared his throat. "I wasn't hitting on her, if that's what you were thinking." Minako raised an eyebrow; Hitomi almost face-palmed. Shigure tried again. "I'm not saying Hitomi isn't pretty or anything-!"

"So you think she's pretty," Minako stated, almost matter-of-factly. "What do the other boys at school think?"

"Don't listen to him," Hitomi intervened. "Everyone thinks I'm average at best."

* * *

"**I kinda wanted to tell her that wasn't true. She sort of had a little fan club going. But she kept giving me a look not to say anything else."**

* * *

"You should go join Aya and Hatori," Hitomi suggested. "Aya's working on his speech. He's going to need an audience soon."

"Oh. Right." Actually, Shigure had no idea what Hitomi was talking about. However, he could feel that weird tension building between Minako and Hitomi again. So, in the end, he barely had any qualms about going back to the living room to join his two best friends. Hatori was working on a poster. He had already outlined the words 'Vote Sohma Ayame for President' in black marker. Ayame was just starting to draw on another posterboard.

"Are you finished with your speech?" Shigure asked, taking a seat by the small center table.

Ayame shook his head and reached for a red marker. "I'm just going to work on posters today!"

Shigure nodded. For a while, he watched Ayame and Hatori work on their posters. After thinking for a bit, he decided to make one. Shigure grabbed a black marker and a small piece of posterboard. "Do you know what Hitomi baked?" He asked as he worked on a large, capital H.

Ayame replied. "She baked oatmeal cookies!"

"Hari's favorite," Shigure stated, his brown eyes studying the dragon. Hatori kept working like he hadn't heard. Shigure continued, smirking a little. "Do you think it's coincidence, Hari?"

Hatori sighed and put down the marker. "Maybe it is a coincidence, Shigure."

Before Shigure could respond, Hitomi walked in. Hitomi placed the tray of oatmeal cookies on the centerpiece table. "I hope they're okay."

Ayame tasted one. "They're good!"

Hitomi smiled a little, especially when Hatori reached for one. "Thanks." She took a seat next to Shigure, something that the dog hadn't expected. Suddenly she whispered to him, "You should be careful with what you say to my mom."

Shigure looked at her sharply. "What?"

Hitomi reached for a cookie. "She just doesn't take that subject lightly," she whispered.

As if on cue, Minako came into the living room. All four teens looked at her. She gave them a prepared smile as she sat down on a couch. "How is everything going in here?"

"Great!" Ayame replied. "Now that Hitomi brought her cookies!"

Minako looked at Hatori's poster. "You're running for president, Ayame. How courageous of you. You know, Hitomi's running for treasurer. I told her that treasurer wasn't all that important but should I be surprised that she chose it?"

"Actually, Treasurer is a very important job," Hatori disagreed. "The school council needs someone to keep track of funding for different school events and how to generate revenue. A person like that has to be not only intelligent, but also creative and good at problem solving. I couldn't see anyone more suited for the job than Hitomi."

"Maybe," Minako said slowly. "Then again, you might know better than I do about how this student council works."

* * *

"**Usually, I'm impressed by Hatori's actions but I was a bit jealous at the time. He had a natural way of protecting Hitomi from her mother that I didn't have. It's something I later regretted not having."**


	9. The Ascent: The Election, Pt 2

**A/N: I think I should give up on predicting when I'm going to update. I say one thing than something else happens. Anyway, this chapter took a while to put together because the first version had unnecessary tidbits. At least that's what I thought. They didn't seem essential to the plot. So yeah. Enjoy this chapter and hopefully the next one will be up soon. :)**

* * *

**THE ASCENT: The Election, Pt. 2**

* * *

"You know, you didn't have to come with me," Hitomi said as she finished taping a poster to the wall. Since the school was so empty at this time in the morning, her voice carried down the hallway. Hitomi faced Shigure. "Hatori said he would have."

He acted nonchalantly about the situation. "Yeah. I know."

"I _wanted_ him to come with me."

"Yeah, I know that, too."

Hitomi leaned on the wall and folded her arms across her chest. "What were you just saying yesterday, Shigure? Something about giving me what I want?"

All yesterday afternoon and well into the evening, the Mabudachi trio and Hitomi had been working on campaign posters. It was then that the group had decided to come in an hour early and start putting up their posters. Originally, Hitomi was supposed to be paired together with Hatori and Ayame with Shigure. But few words from Shigure this morning had caused the dragon to go with Ayame instead.

"I'm doing you a favor," Shigure replied.

"A favor?" She questioned, clearly in disbelief.

Shigure smirked. "I'm saving you from embarrassing yourself."

Hitomi huffed but she didn't say anything, probably believing there was some truth to that. She walked over to the opposite side of the hallway and stuck her hand out. "Poster?"

Shigure joined her and placed one in her hand. He watched as she started taping it to the wall. "You can thank me when you're ready."

Hitomi rolled her eyes. "Sure I will." She stepped back and examined the poster. Ayame was posing in his school uniform, his long braided hair over his shoulder. He was giving two thumps up. In big red letters underneath was 'Vote Ayame for Student Council President!'

Hitomi smiled. "Hatori did a pretty good job, don't you think?" It had been Hatori's idea to actually use photos instead of their questionable drawings.

"Well, he does want Ayame to win," Shigure replied.

"Me too but my posters aren't nearly this great."

The two Sohmas heard footsteps coming from the opposite end of the hall. Shigure looked and was surprised to see a gorgeous female student approaching them. She had bleached hair, green eyes, and a tall, slender frame. She walked with such poise. Even the way she held the stack of papers in her hand seemed like it was done elegantly. Shigure would have been mesmerized if it wasn't for the bad vibes he was getting from Hitomi.

"Hello Hitomi," the girl called out airily, shaking her lustrous locks about. "Are you putting up posters for yourself?"

Hitomi became rigid. "Something like that, Akemi."

"That's Akemi?" Shigure asked in a hushed voice.

Hitomi glanced at Shigure, catching his expression. "Clearly she's your type."

Akemi stopped by one of the posters they had put up. "Wow. This must be the hundredth poster I've seen for Ayame."

"We only made twenty-four," Hitomi said, matter-of-factly.

"That's still a lot." Akemi turned back to the poster. "I must admit though – this is a good spot. You mind if I cover this one up? You have so many around, surely you won't mind." Hitomi was probably giving Akemi a dirty look because the unnatural blonde ended up laughing. "I was kidding, Hitomi. Honestly." Her gaze shifted to Shigure. "Who's your cute friend?"

"Sohma Shigure," Shigure replied immediately, earning a dirty look from Hitomi.

"Oh? Another one of your relatives?" At this Akemi smiled. "Shigure," she repeated almost melodically. Suddenly she winked. "Vote for me?"

"Sorry, can't," Shigure said. Another look from Hitomi, although he was sure this one was of approval. "My vote is for Aya."

"Is Hitomi forcing you to vote for him?" Akemi asked, feigning disappointment. "You know he's going to lose anyway, right?"

"You can never be sure," Shigure said. He was now pretending to be cordial while deep down inside he was a little irritated. He could know see what Hitomi had meant. Hitomi, on the other hand, wasn't even pretending to play nice. Her brown eyes were narrowed at Akemi. It didn't take much longer for Hitomi to start walking away.

"Shigure," Hitomi said without looking back, "we should get going. We still have a bunch of these posters to put up."

Shigure looked back at Akemi and shrugged before catching up to Hitomi. Hitomi was walking fast, clearly dead set on not giving Akemi the time of day. She only slowed down when she rounded the corner into the next hallway. "I can't stand her," she muttered as she stopped walking.

"Why?" Shigure asked.

Hitomi shook her head. "Don't worry about it. Let's just focus on making sure Akemi doesn't win."

"You mean, making sure Aya wins, right?"

"It's the same thing, isn't it?" Hitomi asked. Shigure guessed she wasn't expecting an answer. She was already going down the hallway, scouting the next place to put up a poster. Shigure sighed and went after her.

* * *

"**No sooner than when we met up in homeroom, Hitomi called an emergency meeting at her house. It was a bit odd. Hitomi wasn't one to invite us over to her house, especially for a second day in a row. But maybe it was one of those desperate-times-call-for-desperate-measures situations. The election was two days away but she wanted to make sure Ayame's speech was solid."**

* * *

The four zodiac members were back in Hitomi's living room. The teens currently had the house to themselves. Luckily for then, Minako had been on her way out when they had arrived. She had given Hitomi a look before telling them she would be back in a couple of hours. Shigure helped himself to couple of Hitomi's sugar cookies. While he didn't have to write a speech, he was supposed to be the audience when the other three finished theirs. Hitomi and Hatori had a piece of paper in front of them but their eyes were constantly sneaking looks at Ayame's. The snake was chewing on his pen, his face contorted in thought. Finally Ayame sighed and fell backward onto the beige carpet.

"What's wrong?" Hatori asked.

"I don't know where to start."

"You can start off with 'My fellow students,'" Shigure suggested, only half serious. However, Ayame ran with it.

Ayame sat back up quickly. "That's a great idea, Gure!" Ayame wasted no time writing the opener down in his notebook. He paused in thought then quickly jotted more stuff down. He seemed very excited. Shigure, Hatori and Hitomi watched with curiosity, waiting for the moment Ayame would put his pen down. Finally that moment arrived. He quickly scanned his masterpiece, nodding his head as he went along. "I think this is it."

"What's it?" Hitomi asked.

"Read it, Aya," Shigure said. "We're all dying to know."

Ayame stood up. He looked so serious for once and the situation didn't even call for it. His three relatives watched him anxiously.

"My fellow classmates," Ayame started. "We are about to make the most important decision of our lives, about who's going to give us more dances, better schedules, and more satisfying vacations. We need someone that will not only make the teachers give us less homework, but also less punishments. Someone who can give us that freedom in the classrooms to do whatever we want. And that someone is me! I will be the beacon of hope that this student body needs! Who else has my charisma, my good looks, my-!"

"Ayame," Hatori interrupted. He was the only one who recovered from the shock.

"Yes, Hari?"

"Maybe you should try something different. It's sounds very anarchic."

"You think?"

Hatori nodded. "I don't the faculty would support that."

"I could write your speech for you," Hitomi offered, glancing down at her blank paper.

Hatori and Shigure looked at Hitomi before looking at each other. The two friends didn't have to speak to know that they were thinking the same thing. While Ayame was the one actually running against Akemi, Hitomi wanted to be the one to take Akemi down behind the scenes. However, Ayame seemed completely oblivious to the idea.

"You're so kind, Tomi!" Ayame exclaimed.

"Maybe Aya should write it," Shigure intervene. He casually reached for a cookie. "With some work, Aya's speech could be great."

Hitomi looked at Shigure like he was crazy before rolling her eyes and looking at Ayame. "You can write your speech Ayame," she said with some reluctance in her voice. She gave Shigure another look and the dog shrugged at her, feeling a little smug. He had won a disagreement against Hitomi and he had done so without Hatori's help. He looked at Hatori and gave him a thumbs-up but Hatori sighed and looked away.

* * *

"**The day before the election came and went. Nothing much happened. We went to school and afterward, I'm assuming that Hari, Aya, and Hitomi went home to practice their speeches. But that was the calm. The day afterward is when things started to go wrong." **

* * *

It was the day of elections. The assembly meeting, in which candidates' speeches would be given, was less than six hours away. All candidates were either nervous or excited. His relatives were no different. The normally stoic Hatori kept checking his speech for mistakes every chance he could, constantly changing things here and there. Hitomi had been tapping her foot all through homeroom until their sensei had asked her to stop. Ayame looked like he was ready to jump out of his seat any minute. Shigure was amused but at the same time, he was worried about how the election would go. He wanted them all to win but their winning meant that he would be alone afterschool. Still, despite his feelings he would be as supportive as possible.

During the break between their first and second classes, Shigure turned toward his fellow zodiac members. "Nervous?" Like expected, all three of them shook their heads.

"I'll be happy when it's over though," Hitomi admitted, stretching her arms high above her head.

"Well, I'm ready for this!" Ayame exclaimed, causing several of their classmates to look their way. Hitomi and Hatori looked a little uncomfortable with the attention but Ayame waved at his onlookers. This caused Shigure to chuckle a bit.

"We're all voting for you guys!" One of their classmates called out.

"Yeah!" Someone else agreed. "The whole grade is voting for you Sohmas!"

"It's going to be a Sohma year!" Ayame responded. He was so confident about it but Hitomi and Hatori looked kind of worried.

"All the third years are voting for Akemi," Hatori said in a low voice, keeping the conversation between him and his relatives. However, Ayame wasn't paying much attention. Shigure guessed it was better that way. Hatori continued with his view on the current situation. "And it seems like most of the second years will be voting for Ayame. That means the deciding factor will most likely be the first years."

Hitomi leaned back in her seat. "Unfortunately, Akemi didn't make herself scarce during the entrance ceremonies."

"I can do some campaigning for Aya during lunch," Shigure told Hatori and Hitomi. "Talk to a few first years and get them to pass on the message to vote for Aya."

"All by yourself?" Hitomi asked. "I can help."

"It's okay," Shigure told her. "You need to focus on your speech."

"Oh! That reminds me!" Hitomi started flipping madly through her notebook. At first, Shigure thought that maybe she had forgotten it but then she ripped out a page in her neatest handwriting. "Ayame?" The boy turned around and she held it in front of him. "For you," she said. "You don't _have_ to read it" – Shigure and Hatori raised their eyebrows – "But I will really appreciate it if you do."

Ayame started looking over, his face not betraying his feelings. That in itself was an oddity considering how expressive Ayame was. Shigure looked at Hitomi but she shrugged. Just for a second, he thought that maybe _she_ was feeling smug about this. Hatori spoke up though.

"I don't think anything's wrong with your speech, Ayame," he said, his eyes on the sheep of the zodiac. She flinched under his scrutinizing gaze. Hatori went on. "I think it would be best if you read your speech, Aya."

Before Ayame could speak up, Hitomi said, "You have the whole day to decide which one you want to read. I won't be offended if you don't choose mine. I just feel that maybe since I have more experience with Akemi my speech might hit home." As if she wanted to avoid their gazes, she turned around in her seat. She was trying to have the last word on this. And before Shigure could stop her from doing so, teacher came in and their second class of the day started.

* * *

Once class ended and lunch was next, Shigure headed to the first floor where most of the first year homerooms were located. He only had forty minutes to get the job done. Then, he would deal with the Hitomi problem. Although, he was sure Hatori was well underway with that.

Within the first ten minutes, he had visited two classrooms. Most of the first years didn't mind having their lunch disrupted for a few minutes and a lot of the girls seemed to have taken a liking to him. That was good; maybe his good looks would buy a few votes in Ayame's favor. When he left the third classroom, after talking and working his magic there, he nearly bumped into Akemi.

Akemi was startled but she quickly relaxed at the familiar face. "Shigure, right?"

"Yeah," Shigure laughed nervously. Usually he was more careful than that. He was always aware of where girls were so he would avoid transforming. But he nearly transformed just because he had given that last minute wink to that 1-D brunette. He shook off the nervousness. "Last minute campaigning, Akemi?"

"Yep." Akemi's green eyes looked him over with approval. Shigure closed the classroom door and the two teens migrated further down the hallway.

Shigure didn't want to fraternize with the enemy but they seemed to be going in the same direction. Conversation was almost inevitable at this point. "Is something wrong?" He asked, seeing how she was still looking at him.

She shook her head. "I can see why Hitomi is so attached to you. You're really cute, Shigure."

Shigure smiled. "So are you, Akemi. But I doubt that's the reason Hitomi hangs out with me so much."

"So you two are friends?" Akemi's eyebrows rose in near surprise. "Wow. Just last year she was all alone."

"Alone?" He was trying to act casual but the confusion slipped out into his voice. He saw her acknowledgement of it register across her face.

"Yeah," she said, almost sounding sad. "It came out during a student council meeting. Hitomi was very embarrassed about it."

It finally clicked in his head. _This_ was the incident Hitomi didn't want to tell him about yesterday. _This_ was the cause for Hitomi's dislike for Akemi. He wanted to ask Akemi for what had happened, what was her role in all this. But then he noticed Hitomi standing few yards away, watching him and Akemi. _Oh crap. _

When Akemi noticed that Shigure was distracted, she turned around and saw the sheep of the zodiac. She put on a cheerful smile. "Hey, Hitomi. We were just talking about you."

"Figures," Hitomi muttered darkly. She turned and started walking away.

Shigure looked at Akemi and then back at Hitomi's retreating back. "Hitomi! Wait!" As soon as he called out to her, she took off running. He stood there, dumbfounded by the fact that she was running away. "Hitomi!"

* * *

**A/N: Thanks to Lotta Devon and Mrs. Malfoy Bieber Sohma for their reviews and to those who are still reading. It is greatly appreciated. Till later. **


	10. The Ascent: The Election, Pt 3

**A/N: This update came a lot faster than I thought it would but I think it only did because I'm neglecting my reading for class. So after this, I'm getting back to work. The Election ends in this chapter. Next chapter will have Minako in it and her true colors show a bit more to the Mabudachi Trio. Should be interesting. Anyway, I want to thank sanchezdianne, Mrs. Malfoy Bieber Sohma, and Knightgirl4Jack for reviewing. Till later. **

* * *

**THE ASCENT: The Election, Pt. 3**

* * *

"**I didn't know how long I chased her but when I finally caught up to her, I was out of breath. She was in the room where all the lockers were kept, just sitting there on the floor. She didn't even look in my direction. I sat down next to her and told her—**

* * *

"I don't mind chasing girls around but you have to admit that this was ridiculous."

She shimmied away from him. "I bet Akemi went extra slow just so you could catch up and have a laugh or two at my expense."

"It wasn't like that Hitomi."

"Sure it wasn't," she muttered. "You only tease me every day."

"Always in good fun, Hitomi."

"You embarrass me in front of Hatori."

"That's in good fun, too." Hitomi sighed and tried to get up. However, Shigure quickly grabbed her hand. He was not in the mood to chase her through the school again. They looked at each other, him pleadingly and her angrily. Despite how she probably felt, she ended up sitting back down again. He breathed a sigh of relief and rested his head against a locker. "...Are me, Aya and Hari your only friends?"

"Is that what she was telling you about?" She asked. "About last year?"

"Kinda. She didn't exactly go into all the details."

"She probably told you all the 'important' stuff like how I ran to the bathroom crying or how I skipped the next day of school."

"She actually left that part out."

"Oh. Maybe she's not a total witch then."

"What happened? Why do you dislike her so much?"

Hitomi snorted. "I'm not going to tell you for your amusement."

"I'm not asking you to," Shigure said. "Is it that hard to believe that I'm asking just because I care?"

Hitomi frowned. "Knowing who you are, it is."

Shigure sighed. "Me talking to Akemi is not that terrible, is it?" Apparently she wasn't letting him get away with talking to her 'archnemesis'. He struggled trying to come up with a way to get her to talk to him, to at least yell at him if that would make her feel better. After all that effort, he had nothing. "Hitomi." He said only her name but the question was in his voice.

"You remember I was class rep, right?"

Shigure blinked. It took him a moment to see where she was going with this. "I was in your class."

"I know but you never seemed to pay attention when I sharing announcements. You were always talking to Ayame."

Shigure smiled sheepishly. So she had noticed. "I see."

Hitomi brought her knees to her chest. "It was almost the end of the year and the student council members as well as the class reps were deciding on how upperclassmen would be involved in the entrance ceremonies. Since the Student Council would be dissolved as of next year, it didn't matter much who would be in charge of organizing the help for it.I was actually nominated to be charge of the event."

"Really?" Shigure said, clearly surprised. He thought back to the first day of classes and frowned. "But you didn't help with the entrance ceremonies."

"That's because Akemi spoke up. She wanted the position and I can see now why she did. Anyway, she told everyone that I shouldn't get it because I wasn't a people person and as proof, she said that I didn't have any friends.

"Not like that bothered me. I guess what really got me was when she said 'It must be so lonely having no one in middle school.' That's when I ran out the room. It wasn't something I thought much about until then and when I did, I didn't just think of my first year of middle school but my whole life. My whole life I had no one and for the longest time, I thought that was fine."

"But what about those girls?" Shigure asked.

"What girls?"

"The ones who wanted to throw you a birthday party."

She thought for a bit before it clicked in her head. "Oh. They were there when it happened. They just felt bad for me. That's all."

"I don't get it, Hitomi," Shigure said, after taking in everything she had told him. "Why would anyone want to be alone?"

Hitomi opened her mouth but she didn't say a word. After a while, she just sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "It doesn't matter. Not anymore. But I feel like Hatori probably hates me again."

"Again?" Shigure asked, catching the change in topic. Still, he went with it. She had told him more than enough. "Didn't you two just make up this week?"

"We did but we just argued about me writing Ayame's speech."

"Me and you argue all the time but it always blows over," Shigure said. "I'm sure this will, too."

"That's two different things!" She exclaimed, causing Shigure to be taken back. "My relationship with you is different from the one I have with Hatori. You can't compare the two!"

"Why not?" He asked, feeling like he had to ask.

She lowered her gaze, struggling to find her words. "Well, you see..." He watched her, waiting for the explanation. But she wasn't giving off the signals she would be if Hatori had been asking in his place. She would probably blushing or stammering her words or something. Finally she said, "You're less critical of me than he is. I can be more open and things will still be okay between us. It's, um, part of the reason I came looking for you."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I was almost happy to see you but you were talking to Akemi."

He grinned sheepishly. "Sorry about that."

She shook her head. "Don't. Be honest though: was it that bad to write Ayame a speech?"

He shrugged. "What do you think?"

"You can't answer a question with a question."

"Maybe," he said, standing up. "But once you answer that question, you will know the answer to your question."

Hitomi rolled her eyes, muttering under her breath about him being cryptic for no reason. She got up and took a step. Immediately, she lost her balance. She let out a tiny yelp of alarm before she crashed into Shigure's chest.

Shigure stiffened immediately, ready to go up into a puff of smoke and transform into a dog, but then he remembered – Hitomi was part of the zodiac, too.

"Sorry," she told him, laughing nervously. "My leg kinda fell asleep."

Shigure hesitated at first but then he went for it. He embraced her tightly in his arms. After a moment, she awkwardly returned the hug.

"Are you okay, Shigure?"

* * *

"**She had no idea how badly I wished it was the other way around. How I wished that it was Hatori she was always talking to about how much she liked **_**me**_** and that I can be unaffected by it all. I doubt she knew why I held her the way I did or why I continued from that point on to steal moments like these when no one was around. But..."**

* * *

"Yeah, I'm fine," Shigure said, finally letting go of her. "I thought maybe you might have needed a hug."

Hitomi shook her head at his answer, giving him a small smile.

* * *

"**I could never tell her."**

* * *

Shigure glanced at the wall clock and saw that lunch was almost over. Maybe if he ran, he could stop by one more first year class and say his piece. He looked at Hitomi but he also saw that her eyes were on the clock. "Um, I'll catch up with you in homeroom," he told her. "I'll try to do some quick campaigning." He had taken only a step when Hitomi take hold of his arm. He looked back at her.

"I'll try to save you some lunch then," she said, letting go.

"Thanks." With a nod and a wave goodbye, Shigure left the lockers and Hitomi behind.

* * *

"Let's give one last round of applause for Sohma Hatori!" Hatori walked off stage to rejoin the rest of the group, not paying too much attention to the cheers and applause for him. Hatori was never one to really soak in attention. Shigure never understood why when it was obvious that Hatori deserved it.

The dog of the zodiac patted his best friend on the back. "Your speech was better than I thought it would be."

Hatori raised an eyebrow. "Why are you back here again?" Last time he checked, only students running and a few faculty members should be the only one backstage.

"I snuck him in of course, Hari!" Ayame said proudly. "Who else is better to give us a pep talk than Shigure? It did wonders for Hitomi." He beamed at Hitomi and Hitomi tried to return the smile, failing rather miserably. Apparently being Hatori's presence was not doing any wonders for.

Shigure looked around. Most of the candidates were already gone, having already read their speeches and joining the rest of the school in the audience. The only reason Hitomi and Hatori stayed was because they wanted to be there for Ayame. The only other person who was backstage besides them was Akemi. She sat off in a far off corner, reading her speech and marking it up accordingly with a purple pen. She was the next person to go on stage.

"Up next, the first of your Presidential candidates, Suzuki Akemi!"

The audience clapped respectfully. Akemi finally got up and passed the Sohmas. "Good luck!" Ayame told her.

Akemi smirked. "I doubt I need it but thanks anyway." She walked out on stage. There were a few wolf whistles as the applause got louder, no doubt from the people in her year.

"Akemi's more popular than I thought she would be," Shigure said.

"I'm not too surprised," Hatori said."I've heard she dreamt of being Student Council President since her first year of middle school. She's probably been preparing since."

"Doesn't mean she deserves to win," Hitomi muttered.

Akemi stood on the podium and readjusted the microphone. Tapping it and then pleased to see it was on, she started reading her speech. "Hello, everyone. If you don't already know, I'm Akemi and I hope to be your president." There were some cheers in the crowd.

"I hope you all realize how important this election is. You are voting for the people you believe are the most suited to be on your student council. This year I'm proud to say we have some amazing choices. We have Sohma Hatori, Yamada Hiroshi-!"

"Is she choosing her council?" Hatori whispered but all his relatives heard him.

"I even think Hitomi would make a wonderful Treasurer," Akemi added with a smile, glancing at the Sohmas and winking. The crowd seemed to be with her. Suddenly her expression changed. "But I can't say that about all our candidates. I don't even know some of them that well. Can they really give the school what it needs? A strong group of leaders? I know that _I'm_ qualified for the job. I was on the Student Council last year. I know what works and what doesn't. I know what this student body needs and I can give it.

"Ayame, on the other hand, is the opposite of me. Is Sohma Ayame capable of managing a Student Council as your President? I don't think so. I know he's not on my level and what can you as fellow students say he has done for the school? Nothing. Zilch. Nada. I know I may _sound_ harsh but I think it's important that you are not lied to about this important election, especially by someone who thinks he can charm anyone through good looks alone. Vote for me and I'll be the best President you ever have. Thank you."

She bowed and left the stage, smiling as everyone, especially her class, cheered for her. She looked at the Sohmas. "I wish you the best of luck, Ayame. I think you might actually need it."

"I can see why you don't like her, Hitomi," Shigure said after Akemi left. He looked at Hitomi but she didn't say anything. Her mind was in some other place at the moment. He looked at Ayame who was also quiet. "I wouldn't listen to her, Aya. Akemi has no idea what she's talking about."

"Shigure's right," Hatori agreed.

"Where's my speech?" Hitomi suddenly asked.

Ayame pulled out a folded piece of paper. He held it up. "I guess it's a good thing you wrote this after all."

Hitomi grabbed it and unfolded it. She quickly glanced over it. "You also have your speech with you?"

"Yeah," Ayame said. "Hari said I should bring it."

"Good." And with that, she tore her speech into pieces over and over again until she couldn't rip it anymore. She ignored Ayame's horrified face as she dumped the contents in the nearest wastebasket.

"What did you just do?" Ayame asked in shock.

"Last but not least, your other candidate for Student Council President, Sohma Ayame!"

Ayame looked at the stage and then back at Hitomi. Hitomi rolled her eyes and pushed him toward the stage. "You'll be fine. Now get out there and show everyone how great you are!"

Ayame looked at his relatives before grinning. He then hurried out on stage and reached the podium. He looked at his speech and then at the student body. "My fellow students..."

Shigure looked back at Hitomi, giving her an all-knowing smile. "You finally came up with an answer, huh?"

She looked away. "After all that stupidness Akemi said, everyone needs to know the real Ayame. My speech couldn't do that, you know?"

Hatori looked back and forth between the two before it dawned on them. "So you listened to Shigure and not me."

Hitomi shrugged. "He doesn't judge."

Hatori was about to say something but Shigure intervened. "Isn't it about time you two ended this lovers' quarrel?" The two stopped talking and Shigure smirked. He turned back and watched Ayame give his speech. Ayame was confident as he spoke, earning cheers and a few laughs where appropriate. He was a natural. He didn't need to prep for years in advance. Through his charisma, he held the crowd's attention and those who doubted his leadership skills could now see his potential. It was a wonder why he didn't win.

* * *

After the principal announced the winners over the loud speaker, their homeroom cheered. While not all three of the Sohmas had won, they were excited that they had such great representation in the Student Council. Two out of five positions was not bad. Still, a few fellow classmates kept saying that Ayame should have won. But surprisingly Ayame was taking the lost gracefully and told them it was what it was. However, Hitomi couldn't accept that.

"Ayame lost by one vote," Hitomi reiterated. "Where did we go wrong?"

"We didn't," Hatori said. "Akemi just blindsided us."

Shigure nodded in agreement. "As always, you're right, Hari. It probably was her speech."

Ayame looked at his relatives. He didn't understand why they seemed so bothered by this. "But I'm okay with not being Student Council President. I'm just happy that you two won."

"Because she said she wanted us to!" Hitomi pointed out angrily. "She said so in her speech!"

"You won because you were good, Hitomi," Hatori said. "You really were."

"You can't prove that," Hitomi muttered.

"... You're not going to resign, are you?" Hatori asked. Hatori was trying to act unaffected but Shigure had caught the slight worry in his voice. But once Hitomi shook her head, Shigure was sure that whatever worries Hatori had disappeared.

There was a knock on the door. The classroom got quiet as their homeroom teacher walked over and opened it. There stood Akemi, grinning from ear to ear. The teacher congratulated Akemi on her win but Akemi only seemed to be half listening. Her green eyes flickered in the Sohmas' direction.

"Can I borrow Hitomi and Hatori? I know school will be over in five minutes but I really want to get to know my new Council. I have so much planned for this year."

The teacher turned toward the school's new Treasurer and Vice President. "Hitomi? Hatori?"

Hitomi stood up and started to put her stuff into her bag. Once she was done, she swung it onto her shoulder. "Bye you two."

"Bye," Shigure said.

"Should we wait for you after school?" Ayame asked.

Hatori shook his head. "This might take a while. I'll see you later." After he gathered all his belongings, Hitomi and Hatori left the classroom with Akemi. Maybe Hitomi wasn't excited to spend the afternoon with Akemi but at least she had Hatori by her side.

Ayame sighed. "I'm glad those two aren't fighting anymore."

"Fighting?" Shigure grinned at Aya's mistake. "More like Hatori scolds her about something and Hitomi doesn't like it."

"But I thought Hitomi likes Hatori."

"She does," Shigure admitted. "That's why she's practically dying every time it happens."

Ayame laughed. "Well that's a relief. I was under the impression that Hatori might like Hitomi. Now they get to spend their afternoons together discussing school affairs. Not _terribly_ romantic but I guess it's better than nothing!"

"Somehow I forgot about that," Shigure said quietly.

"Don't worry, Shigure!" The dog of the zodiac quickly looked at him, completely caught off guard by Ayame's statement. Ayame was grinning ear to ear. "Hatori will still hang out with us on the weekends and the days he's not busy with the Student Council! We're not losing Hatori entirely!"

Shigure couldn't help but smile at how oblivious Ayame was to the situation. Perhaps it was better that way. Shigure sank back into his seat. "I guess you're right."


	11. The Ascent: The News Before Break

**A/N: Not as quick as last week's update but at least it's here. I wish I could reveal more of Hitomi's relationship with her mother but that would require a stronger relationship between Hitomi and Shigure. Next chapter is dedicated to the latter. Anyway, thanks to sanchezdianne, James Birdsong, and Mrs. Malfoy Bieber Sohma for reviewing. Till later. **

* * *

**THE ASCENT: The News Before Break**

* * *

"Why my house again?" Hitomi asked as the Mabudachi Trio and her trekked across the Sohma Estate. They had just gotten back from school so the teens still had on their school uniforms. Hitomi had thought she would be able to go home and relax before starting some homework this Friday afternoon but apparently the boys had other ideas.

Ayame was quick to answer her question. "Because you make the best cookies, Tomi!"

"No," she said. "The _real _reason."

"Hitomi, you're making it sound as if we're conspiring against you," Hatori said.

At this Shigure chuckled. Hitomi gave Shigure a look. This journey had been his idea after all. But Shigure just smiled at her and before long she looked away.

It was the beginning of July and summer vacation was only a few weeks away. Of course, the oldest Zodiac members were happy, even Hitomi. They had planned how they would spend the next couple of months. They were going to the amusement park, to the beach, to the Lake House, and even up to Hokkaido. But before all that, the four Sohmas had to survive exams and homework and for two of them, deal with the Student Council.

Speaking of the Student Council, Ayame had been right: Hitomi and Hatori had been spending a lot of time together because of it. It had gotten to the point where the two could break into their own conversations if they wanted. Their conversations didn't seem too deep; they mostly talked about School Council business. Still it was enough to get Shigure's attention.

Hitomi tried again. "My mom hates unexpected company."

"But your mom loves it when we visit, doesn't she, Hitomi?" Shigure asked, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. She looked at him again.

"Yeah," she answered sarcastically. "She just doesn't show it sometimes."

"I knew it!" Ayame exclaimed.

"If you don't want us to come over," Hatori started but Hitomi shook her head.

"Don't worry about it. We're almost at my house anyway."

Hitomi's house was right around the bend. Hitomi walked up the front steps of the traditional-styled home and slid the door open. She took off her shoes at the front door. "Mom?" She called out as Shigure, Hatori, and Ayame came inside and started to remove their shoes. "Where are you?"

Suddenly, fast-paced footsteps echoed in the quiet home. Minako appeared in the entrance hall. "You're home la-!" Her eyes went to the Mabudachi Trio. "Aren't your parents expecting you home soon?"

"My parents don't mind," Shigure replied.

"My father is at work."

"My mom loves it when I'm out of her hair."

Minako looked at her daughter. Hitomi averted her gaze. "They insisted."

At this Minako smiled coldly. "Of course they did. Sometimes I do wonder if they're your only friends, Hitomi. It's like I see them every week." She turned around and headed back to the kitchen. "I guess you boys want snacks, yes?"

"Yes, please," Hatori responded, trying to redeem the group. But as Minako disappeared from sight, she didn't seem affected by his act of politeness. Hatori looked at Ayame and Shigure. "Maybe this wasn't the best idea. She does see us a lot."

"Yeah but she hardly lets Hitomi out of the house," Shigure pointed out. "And Hitomi doesn't want to tell us why."

"Because she doesn't have to explain everything to us," Hatori said.

"But we're Tomi's friends," Ayame said. He turned toward Hitomi. "Tomi, I order you to tell us why!"

Tomi laughed but it was still obvious there was tension. "You're acting ridiculous, Aya. Can we go to the living room already? I don't know why we need to stand here the whole time."

The group went to the simple living room and sat around the wooden center table on the beige carpet. Even though there were chairs to sit on, they sat on the floor out of habit. They started to talk about school and what had been happening in their lives when they weren't spending time with each other. Ayame launched into one of his stories.

"I've been trying for the longest while to get into this store," he told them.

"... A liquor store?" Hatori asked, not sure what store would keep Ayame out.

"Don't be silly, Hari. A sex shop, of course!" He saw the look on their faces and he quickly held his hands up. "I know what you're thinking but it's not what it seems! I was walking by when I saw all the costumes they had in their shop window. Maid uniforms, nurse uniforms, everything you can imagine! So naturally I wanted to check it out."

"I don't get what's natural about this, Aya," Hitomi said.

"Well, a growing boy has urges and I was curious. Therefore it's natural."

"I still don't get it, Ayame."

Ayame nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, well, let me try explaining this differently. You, dear Tomi, feel urges for Hari and if you act on them, I would never stop you because it's natural for most of the girls in our class to experience these urges for Hari. Now, going back to me," he said, pretending to be oblivious of how red Hitomi was turning, "wouldn't the fair thing be to let me act on my urges as well?" Hitomi didn't answer, probably because she was currently dying of embarrassment. However, Ayame took her silence as her agreeing.

"Now back to my story. I walked into the store and the door chimed. So the store owner came over and-!"

Minako entered the room, holding a tray. On it were four plastic cups, a pitcher of lemonade, and a bowl of chips. She set it on the center table. "I hope I didn't take too long."

"Thanks, mom," Hitomi said, reaching for the pitcher and filling each cup.

Shigure grabbed one and drank some lemonade. "We really appreciate it."

"We do," Hatori said in agreement.

"I'm glad to hear that," Minako said. They thought she was going to leave the living room but to their surprise, she took a seat. "Don't mind me," she told them in a dismissive tone.

Ayame looked at Hitomi's mother and then back at his friends. There was a pause, then: "So, the store owner came over and asked me what I was doing here. I told him that I wanted to see all the costumes. Little did I know what _was_ really inside. The stuff that adults play with—Ow!"

Shigure had quickly elbowed Ayame. Minako only _suspected_ the trio was bad. Ayame didn't need to verify that there was some truth to that.

Hatori slowly drank his lemonade, eying Minako discreetly. He put his glass down and asked, "Anything you want to share, Shigure?"

Shigure looked at Minako out of the corner of his eye. "Nope. You?"

"Well, the Student Council is planning-!"

"How about you, Hitomi?" Minako interrupted. All her eyes were on Minako now. Usually Minako came off as cordial and sometimes decent but for once, the boys was sensing a quiet anger underneath the surface. Hitomi quickly shook her head but Minako's eyes flickered toward Hatori.

* * *

"**And that's when we knew."**

* * *

"I was joking about that!" Ayame quickly explained. "Hitomi doesn't get _those _urges!"

"Mom, nothing is going on. I swear."

Minako still remained as detached as ever. "Why are you acting so frantic? I was lost the moment Ayame started talking about urges!" She laughed at her own comment but the laugh came out so hollow.

For Shigure, that was all the confirmation he needed. He looked at Hatori and Hatori looked Hitomi but she was refusing to make any eye contact. Shigure then looked at Ayame but the snake was currently at a loss for words. Finally Hitomi broke the awkward silence.

"Hatori, weren't you telling me that there was something your dad wanted you to do?"

Hatori looked at Hitomi and Hitomi widened her eyes. Shigure was dumbstruck. She was telling them to go. Hatori cleared his throat and stood up. "Yes. He wanted me to take carry a few boxes from his office to the basement. Ayame, Shigure, it might go quicker if you two help me."

"O-okay," Ayame replied.

"I'm sure you and Aya can manage," Shigure said. Every time Minako seemed dangerously upset, Hitomi was quick to get them out of the house. For once, he wanted to see why Hitomi was so eager to do so. He wanted to see what she was so eager to hide.

"We need your help, Shigure," Hatori said with a slight edge in voice.

"I'm sure you don't."

"I'm sure they do," Hitomi interrupted. Shigure looked at her but she didn't waver. "You should go with them."

"What are you trying to hide?" Shigure finally asked out right. "I can already guess what it is."

Minako finally got out of her chair and slowly walked over to the group. She stopped at the end of the table and her brown eyes looked at Shigure. "I think it's should be clear by now that Hitomi doesn't want your company anymore, Shigure."

Shigure looked at Minako. Was this really happening? Was Hitomi really kicking him out? He got off the floor and headed to the door. As he put on his shoes, he listened to his two best friends try to be cordial with Minako, apologizing for disturbing her afternoon. Why were they apologizing? It should be the other way around. He stepped outside and shortly after, Ayame and Hatori joined him. They walked in silence for a while until Ayame spoke.

"I guess today was a bad idea to come over."

"We should have stayed," Shigure responded.

"For what?" Hatori asked. "To make things worse?"

"No. So Hitomi wouldn't have to put up with Minako's stupidness." Hatori stopped in his tracks. "Don't be so surprised, Hari. You're the one who said it seems like Minako has been extra strict with Hitomi the last few weeks."

"Doesn't mean that you should be adding fuel to that fire, Shigure."

* * *

"**I should have taken Hatori's words a little more seriously. But I didn't. Instead I eventually ended up burning everything."**

* * *

Ayame sighed. "We can call Tomi later."

Shigure closed his eyes and smirked at the situation. "When was the last time we called and Hitomi actually answered?"

"Then we can wait till Monday," Hatori suggested.

"Monday?"

"I don't want to," Hatori admitted. "But it's best if we give Hitomi and Minako some space."

"This is my fault, isn't it?" Ayame asked.

Hatori shook his head. "Minako was out to get us the moment we set foot in that house."

"Us or Tomi?" Ayame questioned.

"Who knows?" Shigure shrugged. If he had to answer though, his gut instinct was telling him the answer was most likely Hitomi.

* * *

Thing was, Shigure couldn't wait until Monday and later that evening, he returned to Hitomi's house. He found the tree he and his best friends had climbed on Hitomi's birthday. It was good thing Minako never found out about them sneaking in or else she would have gotten the tree cut down. He climbed up until he was leveled with the second floor and made his way carefully across a thick branch. Soon he was outside of Hitomi's bedroom.

The lights were off but he could see a silhouette on the bed. For a second, he wondered if it was Minako pretending to be Hitomi. But he soon realized how ridiculous that was and knocked on the window.

The person bolted up. Shigure breathed a sigh of relief when he saw it was Hitomi. Her nightstand lamp came on and Hitomi quickly wiped her face with her sleeve before coming over. _Is she been crying? _He asked himself as she opened the window. Before he could even ask, she went off. "You _idiot_. Why can't you just listen to people? When someone says 'Leave' it's not that hard to understand."

Shigure knew she wanted to yell but she couldn't. Not with her mother downstairs. "Can I come in?"

"No. What don't you-!" She shook her head and turned around. She raised her arm to her face again.

"...If I can't come in, can you come outside?"

She looked at him. If she was trying to scare him off with one of her angry looks, the watery eyes weren't helping. Hitomi walked over to her bedroom door and Shigure heard the click of the lock. She came back to the window and climbed outside.

Shigure could tell she had never thought about using the tree branch to sneak outside. She was extremely nervous and she was clinging onto anything within reach for dare life. But Shigure managed to help her comfortably sit next to him.

She sniffled, the sound being heard over the crickets chirping this warm evening. "I'm sorry," she finally said after a deep breath. "About just now and this afternoon but you can be so stupid sometimes."

"Yeah but you can be pretty stupid yourself. You think we don't know anything, Hitomi, but we're Zodiac members, too... Minako has been a lot stricter, right?"

Hitomi wiped her eyes again before nodding. "She just worries though. That's all."

"About what?"

Hitomi shrugged. "I don't know. Things mothers normally worry about."

"You're lying again, Hitomi."

"You want the truth then? You're prying."

Shigure laughed. "That's not the answer I was hoping for but it's better. Talking about truths, you should stop crying. You don't look cute when you cry."

Hitomi began laughing. It was music to his ears at this point. "Fine," she told him, trying to minimize her sniffles. She forced a smile on her face. "Better, Shigure?"

"Much better." And he wasn't lying. Seeing her crack a smile was better than watching her cry. He wouldn't know what to do if she had started sobbing.

"Hey, Hitomi?" She looked at him. "What happened after we left?"

"You really want to know, Shigure?"

A sing-song voice called out to them. "Gure! Tomi!"

Hearing their names, the two Zodiac Members looked down. Ayame and Hatori were down below, watching the two of them. Ayame was making ridiculous kissing faces but Hatori looked kind of serious.

"I thought you said you were waiting for Monday," Shigure said in a hushed voice.

"Hari got _too_ worried," Ayame replied for Hatori.

Hatori lowered his gaze. "I thought you might have been hurt or something but you seem to be doing okay."

Hitomi looked at Shigure and then back at Hatori. To Shigure, she looked uncomfortable and embarrassed. Embarrassed of what? Being caught in a tree with him? Not like Ayame's kissing faces had helped.

"I guess I am," she finally said. "Thanks for worrying about me. All of you. Um..." Her brown eyes went to her dimly lit room. "I should get back inside. I'll see you Monday?"

"Sure," Shigure said. He watched as Hitomi made her way carefully across the branch before reaching for her window. Unlike the first time, she didn't look so scared out of her mind. She climbed inside. Sparing Shigure one last glance, she closed the window and closed the curtains.

Shigure climbed down the tree, jumping down the last three feet.

"I figured you were here," Hatori said as the Mabudachi Trio started to walk away from the house.

"You did?" Shigure asked.

"Like Ayame said," Hatori explained. "I got worried. But unlike you, I thought we could visit Hitomi as a group."

"I'm sorry, Hari. I thought you would say no."

"Hari's not that indifferent to Tomi's situation, Gure," Ayame said.

"I'm not indifferent at all," Hatori corrected. "I like Hitomi."

"You do, huh?" It was funny. The two lovebirds were confessing to everyone but each other. Then again, considering the number of times he himself had confessed on Hitomi's behalf—

"Not that way," Hatori said, quickly reading Shigure's expression. "Not the way you do."

Shigure smiled and looked away. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Hatori nodded but Shigure could tell the dragon was not buying it. Were his feelings for Hitomi really that obvious? Then again they probably weren't. Hitomi and Ayame seemed oblivious to the situation, which spoke volumes about how perceptive Hatori was.

The trio stopped walking. It was here that they had to go their separate ways.

"Are we going to check on Tomi tomorrow?" Ayame asked, his golden eyes moving back and forth between his two best friends.

"I think Hitomi will be okay for now," Hatori said. "She did say she'll see us Monday."

"You think Hitomi means that?" Shigure asked.

"I'll take her word for it," Hatori replied.

"Okay," Ayame said, satisfied with Hatori's answer. "We'll see Tomi Monday then. Well, goodbye Hari, Gure! Until tomorrow!"

"Tomorrow?" Hatori said, watching his friend run off.

"Yeah," Shigure said. "Aya wanted to talk more about our vacation plans. Pity Hitomi can't come."

"Yeah... See you tomorrow then, Shigure." Hatori walked off in the direction of his home.

"Bye."

* * *

When Shigure got home, he was surprised to see both his parents sitting in the living room. The sight had been becoming more and more scarce over the years and every time it popped up, he wondered if something important was going. Usually it was main house business and it was his first guess.

"Hello," Shigure said as entered the living room. He stepped between the two chairs his parents were sitting in. "Is something wrong?" He asked casually, looking at his mother, than his father expectantly. He was certain that nothing was wrong. It just was the standard question in these situations.

"Nothing is wrong," his mother replied. "Your father was just telling me that he bought plane tickets to France."

Shigure tried to suppress his smile. "So when are you going away?"

"We're leaving just before your Summer Vacation," his mother said.

He was really trying not to smile now. The prospect of having the house all to himself was too good to be true. "I hope you two have fun then." Shigure was about to leave but then he heard his father's voice.

"What are you talking about, Shigure? You're coming with us."

And just like that, his plans for his summer came crashing down.


	12. The Ascent: Out in the Woods

**A/N: It's been a long time. I felt like I was on such a roll and then college happened. But now that it's summer, I should have more time to work on this story. Thanks to sanchezdianne, Mrs. Malfoy Bieber Sohma, and DarkestInk for their reviews and to those who added this story to their favorites/alerts list. Enjoy!**

**THE ASCENT: Out in the Woods**

Ayame's eyes opened wide. "You're not going to be here for the summer?"

Shigure shook his head. "Afraid not."

"And you sure you tried everything?" Hatori asked.

"I'm sure."

For last several days, Shigure had been trying to convince his parents otherwise but the two had been obstinate in their decision. One, they refused to leave him alone in their precious home and two, it wouldn't be fair to burden anyone with him for three weeks. His vacation would be spent in France and that was that. He looked at Hitomi who had been quiet and poked her in the ribs. "Don't be too excited at the news," he told her jokingly.

She rolled her eyes. "You know, it won't feel right without you."

"Really?"

"Yeah," she said, frowning. "It's not like I hate you, Shigure."

Shigure smirked. "Sometimes it's easy to forget with you doting on Hari all the time."

She quickly looked away, blushing. "We should do something before you go away. As a group."

"That's a wonderful idea, Tomi!" Ayame exclaimed, hugging the girl. "We should go somewhere!"

"We have that day off before our exams," Hatori brought up. "If we want to do something, we should do it then."

Ayame looked at Shigure expectantly. "So what do you want to do?"

"Let's go hiking," Shigure suggested. Hitomi made a face and Shigure smirked. "You don't want to come?"

"No," she said quickly. "I'll go."

"What about your mom?" Ayame asked.

"I'll think of something," she said.

"For the most part," Hatori started his eyes on Hitomi, "It's settled. Next week, Wednesday, we'll go hiking."

Wednesday arrived and the group met up at the entrance of the Sohma Estate. From there, they headed to the train station. The hiking spot that Shigure had chosen was a forest two hours outside of town. It was a hot day but where the trees provided shade, it was cool. Shigure and Ayame were very excited. Hatori looked as if he was just going along with them.

* * *

"**But Hitomi wasn't herself. Hari, Aya, and I could tell something was bothering her but we didn't know what and unfortunately, we didn't know how to ask."**

* * *

The group kept going through the woods until Hitomi spoke up.

"Do you think we can rest a while?" The boys looked at her. "Please?"

"Tired already?" Shigure asked, teasingly. "If you want, we can leave you here."

"In the middle of a forest?"

"What?" He grinned. "The only thing to worry about is bears."

Hatori sighed. "Don't listen to Shigure. We can take a break if you want."

"Forget it," she muttered as she walked past the three boys.

"Maybe Tomi doesn't like hiking," Ayame suggested to his two best friends.

Shigure watched as she stormed off. "It's her fault if she didn't want to come." Hatori raised an eyebrow but Shigure shrugged.

"Tomi!" Ayame called out. Hitomi stopped and turned around.

"What?" She yelled. "I thought Shigure didn't want any breaks!"

Hatori gave Shigure that say-something look and the boy sighed. "Don't be difficult, Hitomi!" Shigure yelled back. "You know how much I really like you!"

Her face heated up at Shigure's words but she was still as indignant as ever. "If you really like me, then let's rest!"

They looked at each other for a moment, trying to see where the other was coming from. On his end, Shigure got nothing. _Maybe she's just being a girl about this._ Shigure dropped his backpack on the ground and sat under a tree. He looked at her and patted the ground next to him.

Hitomi slowly rejoined the trio. Reluctantly, she took the spot that Shigure was offering.

Hatori raised an eyebrow. "Just like that, huh?"

Hitomi scooted away from Shigure a bit. "Not just like that."

Spotting room, Ayame forcefully sat between the two teens and wrapped an arm around each of their shoulders. "Isn't it great when we're not fighting?" Hitomi didn't say anything but Shigure laughed at the idea. Ayame laughed as well even though he probably didn't quite see the humor. Hatori watched the three of them for a while before he sat down next to Hitomi.

"Well," Hitomi started, uprooting grass. "I wouldn't be so upset if Shigure didn't say so many stupid things."

Ayame looked at Shigure, whose gaze was elsewhere. "Is there anything you want to say, Gure?"

"If she wasn't so easy to annoy-!"

"That's not helping," Hatori interrupted.

"Like always, you come to her rescue, Hari," Shigure said, smiling almost mockingly.

"That's not true, Gure," Ayame said.

"Really?" Shigure asked, feigning disbelief. "Every time I'm having fun, Hari's always have to say something."

"At Hitomi's expense," Hatori pointed out calmly.

"That's part of the fun."

Hatori was about to say something but then he looked at Hitomi. "Isn't there anything you want to say?"

"Let's roast marshmallows." There was silence at her random suggestion. Still that didn't sway her. She looked toward Ayame. "You brought some, right?"

"Oh, right," Ayame said as he got up and removed his bag from his back. Just for a brief moment, Hitomi's brown eyes flickered in Shigure's direction. Now that Ayame was no longer between them, Shigure waited for her to hit him. But she sat there quietly as Ayame pulled out a large bag of marshmallows.

"Here it is!" Ayame said proudly. "Does anyone know how to start a fire?"

"I do," Hatori said. "We just need to get some firewood."

"I'll get it," Hitomi offered, standing up right away.

"I'll come with you!" Ayame said.

Hitomi shook her head. "It's okay. Shigure's going to come with me."

Hatori and Ayame stared at Shigure and the boys ended up exchanging looks. Finally, after much silent deliberation, Shigure stood up. "Let's go, Hitomi."

Hitomi took off into the forest without a word and Shigure followed. He expected her to start picking up the broken twigs on the ground but she just stepped on them as they got further away from Ayame and Hatori. Finally she came to a stop and faced him. "Since Hatori 'always comes to my rescue,' it's better if it's just the two of us."

Shigure felt a bit uncomfortable but he kept his nonchalant act up. "We're alone. Now what?"

She took a deep breath. "I hate it when you tease me."

"About what?"

"About everything," she said, her eyebrows furrowing together. For once, she wasn't trying to bite his head off. "Like how you always tease me about Hatori."

"Hitomi," Shigure said, his voice taking a joking tone. "I only do it because I like-!"

"And _don't _say that," she interrupted. "It's a horrible thing to lie about."

"Why?" He asked.

"What do you mean _why_?"

"If it's a joke-!"

"Feelings are not something to joke about."

He took a step closer to her. "Does the _idea_ of me liking you bother you that much?" He closed the distance between them, not losing eye contact with her. He knew he had a bad habit of playing games and maybe he shouldn't. But for whatever reason, he kind of liked that he could easily get under her skin. Just knowing made him almost want to laugh. "Is it that horrible?"

"Yes," she said, taking a step back. "I like Hatori."

Shigure stepped forward. "But he doesn't like you, Hitomi."

Then he saw it, the look that came across her face as something just clicked in her mind. Suddenly her eyes were everywhere else but him. "This is getting stupid," she said. "We still need to find branches and stuff. Hatori and Aya are probably wondering where we are and-!"

"You're changing the subject."

"I think I see a good branch over there," she said, ignoring him. She started walking away to get it. "I think it might be too big but we can always break it in half."

* * *

"**I don't know why I thought this was a good idea but..."**

* * *

Shigure pulled her back and kissed her. He didn't realize how badly he wanted to until he did. However he wished that she felt the same. He pulled away. The blush on her cheeks spread as she stared at him in disbelief. "I'm sorry," he mumbled, hoping for Hitomi to say something. But she didn't. Instead, she tried walking away again. "Hitomi," he said, grabbing hold of her wrist. She turned around and slapped him.

"You're such a jerk!"

He stared at her, his eyes becoming nearly impassive as his guard shot up. "You wanted your first kiss to be with Hatori, right?"

Her brown eyes narrowed. "This has nothing to do with Hatori, Shigure. You mess with my feelings, you make me mad on purpose, and then you laugh about it. You always want to play some messed-up game with me. What the heck was that? Why did you do kiss me?"

He had kind of hoped that the kiss would have spoken for itself but apparently he thought wrong. He shrugged. "I guess I just wanted to."

Hitomi looked at the ground. "So my mom was right. This is all I'm good for."

Shigure's guard dropped. "What are you talking about?"

Hitomi shook her head. "Forget it," she muttered.

"What are you talking about, Hitomi?"He repeated.

"...You know, I did ask my mom to come with you today."

"You did?" Shigure said in surprise. "And she said yes?"

"Yeah," Hitomi admitted. "But she also said that she doesn't see why you or the others would want to hang out with me. She said that there is nothing special about me, that I'm not even all that pretty, and that the only reason you would ever hang out with me was if I was, was-!"

"Was what?"

She looked away. "A slut."

His eyes widened. Earlier he had thought that she was upset because she didn't want to go hiking but now he knew the truth. She must have been thinking about what her mother had said all day. "That's not why I kissed you," he said. "And you can't seriously believe Minako. When is she ever right about anything?"

"She did say out of you, Hatori, and Ayame, you're the worst one."

Shigure paused for a moment. "So maybe she's sometimes right," he conceded, "but still, she's wrong about you. You're sort of cute and you're special. And as short as your temper can be, your heart is usually in the right place. You shouldn't listen to Minako all the time."

"You're not lying to me, right?"

"Of course not."

"...Why did you kiss me then?"

"I know you banned me from saying this but I like you, Hitomi."

She stared at him as he gave her his usual half-joking smile. Without warning, she pushed him against a nearby tree and looked into his eyes as if she was trying to see through him. Before she could even ask the question, he softly said, "Do I have a reason to lie to you, Hitomi?"

"Y-you shouldn't have said that. Things will get awkward now."

"It doesn't have to," he said. He kissed her again and this time she didn't pull away.

* * *

"**That's when I believed I had her."**

* * *

It was a series of innocent kisses that went on for who knew how long, each one making his heart beat a little faster. Finally, Hitomi pulled away, feeling embarrassed.

"You're a terrible kisser, Shigure."

He leaned back into the tree, trying to be as casual about this as possible. "Yeah, well you're not that great either." Still, a part of him wanted to kiss her again. He pulled her toward him and she nearly crashed into his chest. Just when he was about to kiss her again, she turned away. Suddenly her brown eyes grew wide. Shigure followed her line of sight and saw Ayame staring at them. Quickly, he let go of Hitomi. Even quicker, Hitomi put five feet between them.

There was an awkward silence as the three Sohmas looked at each other. Finally, Shigure cleared his throat.

"Aya, I know what it looks like but it's not what you think... or saw."

"Of course not," Ayame said, smiling widely. "I definitely didn't see you holding onto each other just now! Nor did I see you two making out! I was just imagining things!" His smile became less ridiculous as it changed from a wide smile to into a smaller, all-knowing one. "Is that right, Shigure?"

Hitomi folded her arms. "That's not funny, Aya." Usually she would be intimidating but the embarrassment of being caught was written all over her face.

Ayame closed his golden eyes as if he was mulling the idea over. "I guess not. But I wonder what Hari will think when he finds out."

"When I find out what?"

Ayame turned around and saw Hatori. He grinned. "Hari! So nice of you to join us!"

"What's going on?" Hatori asked before looking at Shigure and Hitomi. "I thought you two were getting branches and stuff."

Hitomi's face heated up. "We were but, um, we got into another argument."

Shigure raised an eyebrow. For whatever reason, she didn't want to tell Hatori about it. Was she that embarrassed about it? Hatori didn't look entirely convinced and Shigure thought that maybe he was going to get the truth from Ayame. Luckily, Hatori didn't ask.

"I should have known sending you two was a terrible idea," Hatori said with a sigh.

"It was," Hitomi agreed, glancing at Shigure.

"Since we're all here, why don't we get some wood and go back as a group," Hatori suggested. "It will take less time."

"That's a great idea, Hari," Ayame said, looking back at Shigure and Hitomi. "I don't think Hitomi and Shigure can focus on their own."

Probably to hide her blushing, Hitomi turned her back toward the boys and started looking for any small branches she can find. Shigure looked at Hitomi, trying to decide if he should join her but when Ayame winked at him, Shigure decided not to.

The group got back to the Sohma Estate after seven but it was still bright outside. Even some of the children were still running around and playing. Half way into the estate was where they had to split up. Hitomi usually walked back by herself while the Mabudachi Trio moved in the other direction. This evening, the arrangement was different.

"Can I walk you home tonight, Hitomi?" Shigure asked, ignoring the looks from Ayame and Hatori.

Hitomi thought about it for a moment. "Sure. I was going to ask you anyway."

Shigure turned toward Ayame and Hatori. Ayame thought he knew what was going and it showed on his face. Hatori, on the other hand, seemed very unsure about the situation. He kept looking at Shigure and then at Hitomi.

"Don't worry about her," Shigure said, looking back at the sheep of the zodiac. "She's in good hands."

"That's a joke, right?"

"I wouldn't worry," Ayame said, grinning. "I'm sure Hitomi will be very happy at the end."

"Can we go?" Hitomi said, looking away to hide her blush. "I don't want to upset my mom."

Goodbyes were said and the group split up. Shigure and Hitomi walked in silence for a while, side by side. The tension in the air was thick as neither of them knew how to start the conversation. Shigure accidently brushed against Hitomi's arm and she immediately stiffened. He looked at her and she quickly averted her gaze. "What's wrong?" He asked.

"What happened today shouldn't have happened."

"What do you mean?"

"We shouldn't have kissed."

"You didn't seem to have a problem with it."

"Well, I realized it was a mistake." He stared at her, practically speechless. Quickly, she tried to explain herself. "I mean, you were saying all the right things otherwise I wouldn't have kissed you and I figured you should know that I don't feel that way about you before things get out of control and..."

* * *

"**I stopped listening. I wasn't sure how to respond. The more Hitomi seemed flustered about what she was saying, the angrier I felt."**

* * *

"Good night, Hitomi."

Hitomi stopped speaking and Shigure walked past her. After a moment, she turned around. "Shigure?" He stopped walking. "Have fun in France."

Shigure sighed and went home.


	13. The Ascent: Underneath It All, Pt 1

**A/N: Hello! It took me most of yesterday to write this but here it is. I originally I wanted Akito in this chapter but I changed my mind. Akito will appear later on in Part Two of this story, which is only two chapters away! So in two weeks, the first chapter of Part Two will be out. Anyway thanks to Romantically tragic perfection, Knightgirl4Jack, DarkestInk, sanchezdianne, Mrs. Malfoy Bieber Sohma, gracygirl, IggywiLLsaVeMe2012, and x-sayrie-x for the reviews. They were much appreciated. Enjoy!**

**THE ASCENT: Underneath It All, Part 1**

It was Sunday. Classes would resume tomorrow but since Shigure had returned from France the night before, he didn't want to wait till then to see everyone. Everyone, except for Hitomi, was at Ayame's house. The Mabudachi Trio was sitting at the kitchen table, Shigure getting filled in on what he had missed. Apparently he had missed quite a bit.

"He what?" Shigure looked at Ayame but Ayame pretended to not to notice.

Hatori sighed and looked at the snake of the zodiac. "Ayame dared me to kiss Hitomi."

"Did you?"

"Would it bother you if I did?" Hatori asked calmly.

Shigure laughed a bit. "Don't be ridiculous, Hari," he said, brushing off the question. "This is Hitomi we're talking about. I'm sure she's not that great of a kisser."

"You're that sure, Shigure?" Hatori asked, raising an eyebrow.

Shigure nodded, trying to act nonchalant about this. "So you did kiss her then." The dog of the zodiac couldn't believe it. He had left for only three weeks to return and find out the person he liked had kissed someone else. And because of Ayame's silly dare. Knowing his luck, Hitomi probably thought Hatori was a better kisser. Maybe she had moved on and-!

"Actually I didn't," Hatori said.

Shigure blinked. "You didn't?"

Hatori nodded. "She said something about how it wouldn't be fair to you. Do you know what she meant?"

Shigure looked away, smiling to himself. "No idea."

"Really?" Hatori said, glancing at Ayame. "Because Ayame said you two weren't exactly looking for wood when we went hiking."

Shigure looked at Ayame but the snake just grinned. "You can't be mad at me, Gure! Hari would have found out eventually! After all," Ayame concluded, "you were making out with Hitomi out in the open."

Shigure had been trying to fight it but he could feel his face heating up now. Unfortunately, he had no real of brushing this off.

"I'm surprised I didn't see it before," Hatori said, voicing his thoughts. "I mean, you would go by playground logic."

"Playground logic?" Shigure repeated, not fully understanding.

"Like when a boy likes a girl in elementary school. Instead of telling her, he would rather push her into the sandbox. In your case, you thought teasing Hitomi was the best way to get your feelings across."

"Just so you know, I did tell her," Shigure said in his defense. Sure, it was after several months of teasing but he had eventually told her. That was all that mattered in the end. Hitomi was just being difficult about it. A part of him insisted that she was in denial; the other part was saying that maybe she hadn't lied to him that afternoon.

He looked at the small brown bag on the kitchen counter. He had already given Ayame and Hatori their souvenirs. The only one left was Hitomi's. He hadn't known what to give her. In fact, after their last conversation, he hadn't been sure about giving her one at all. And now he wasn't sure what to expect when he saw her again.

"Do you like Hitomi, Hari?" Shigure suddenly asked.

"Well, I was starting to but now I think we're better off as friends. I don't know if she feels the same way though."

"From the way she was kissing Gure, I think she does, Hari," Ayame said.

Shigure leaned back in his chair. "Actually, she told me it was a mistake."

Ayame frowned. "Today?"

Shigure shook his head. "Before I left."

"Maybe you should talk to her again," Hatori suggested. "A lot can change in three weeks."

"Is she coming over?" Shigure asked.

Ayame shook his head. "The main house is visiting her and Minako this afternoon."

"For what?"

Ayame shrugged. "Hitomi says it's part of this monthly check up thing."

"Check up for what?"

Again, Ayame shrugged. "She didn't say."

Suddenly a tiny voice, interrupted. "Ayame?"

The Mabudachi Trio looked at the kitchen entrance, surprised to see Yuki standing there. Sometimes Shigure forgot that Ayame was not an only child. However, Ayame always acted like it. He didn't say much about Yuki, not even little stories about how Yuki possibly annoyed him. It was like Ayame hardly interacted with the kid.

Ayame sighed. "What is it, Yuki?"

"Can you play with me?" Yuki asked nervously.

"Not now," Ayame said. "Can't you see your older brother is busy?"

Yuki's big violet eyes became watery but this only got an exasperated look from Ayame. Ayame looked at his friends, as if telling them, 'See what I deal with' before looking at his brother. "Mom bought you that new toy last week, right? You should go play with that." This only seemed to make things worse; Yuki was starting to whimper. "Alright, alright," Ayame said, giving up. "I'll be there in ten minutes. Wait in your room."

"Okay." Yuki scampered off.

Ayame sighed again. "I don't know why my parents told me to babysit him. They should have let him play with Akito today." He saw Hatori and Shigure exchanged looks. "What? If you had siblings, you would understand what I go through."

* * *

"**Aya wasn't the **_**best**_** brother back then but at least he's trying now, right, Yuki...? Now, now, don't get upset. You should give your brother more of a chance. So where was I?"**

* * *

The next day at school, Shigure spotted Hitomi at her locker, putting her stuff away and getting her books. Summoning some courage, he went up to her. He must have been standing by her for a couple of moments before she decided to look up. Already, he could see her blushing. Quickly, she closed her locker and faced him.

"Hi, Shigure," she said.

"Hi, Hitomi."

There was an awkward pause. Hitomi looked at the ground for a moment, just to collect her thoughts. "How was France?"

"It was good," he told her. "...How was your vacation?"

"It was good, too. Um, did you learn any French?"

"A little."

"Cool."

There was that awkward pause again. This wasn't going as planned. He thought that maybe they could go back to the way things were but he should have known that it wouldn't be that simple. He wasn't sure if now was the appropriate time to give her that souvenir. "Do you want to go to homeroom together?"

"I can't," she said, maybe coming off a bit relieved. "I have to meet with Akemi and the principal soon."

"Are you trouble?"

She shook her head. "Akemi wants to throw a free carnival this year for the students in early August. She was outvoted at the last meeting so now she wants to go over our heads. I'm going just to represent the other side of the story, since I'm Treasurer and all."

"Then can I walk you to the Principal's office?"

"You really shouldn't. It would be bad if you're late to homeroom, you know?"

"Oh. Right."It was _almost_ a good excuse on Hitomi's part.

"I'll see you later, okay?"

He nodded and she walked off.

* * *

"**I must've stood there for a while, trying to decide if she had just rejected me. Eventually, I reached the conclusion I didn't want."**

* * *

When Shigure reached homeroom, everyone was talking about the school carnival that _might_ be happening. Apparently to soften the principal's heart, Akemi had taken the liberty to tell as many students as possible about the carnival. If his class was this excited, he could only imagine how the rest of the school was taking it. Ayame clearly wanted the carnival and as much as Shigure liked Hitomi, he was hoping that Akemi would pull through. But of course, Hatori had to crush the hopes of his two best friends. According to Hatori, Akemi had practically made a promise nearly impossible to keep.

Even as the teacher went through lecture, everyone in the classroom was waiting for the announcement of whether there would be a carnival or not. Those who were sitting in the back were whispering and those who were in the front were cleverly passing notes.

"Hari," Ayame whispered. Hatori acted as if he didn't hear him. "Hari," Ayame tried again.

Hatori turned toward the snake. "What, Ayame?"

"So, if we have this carnival, will there be no school festival this year?" It was very much like Ayame to be optimistic about the situation.

"I don't think so," Hatori whispered back. "Hitomi said that it would difficult to pull off with the current budget, especially if the carnival is free."

A crackle came over the loudspeaker. Immediately the students in the classroom looked at the intercom.

"Hello. This is your Student Council Treasurer, Sohma Hitomi, speaking. The President can't speak at the moment so I will be the one informing you of the decision made this morning about the carnival..."

"Akemi couldn't convince the principal," Hatori said matter-of-factly, causing his two friends to look at him.

"How are you sure?" Shigure asked.

"Because if she did, she would be gloating right now."

Hitomi confirmed Hatori's suspicions. "There will be no carnival held in August."

Groans filled the classroom. Hatori sighed. "I figured as much."

"We know that a lot of the students wanted a carnival this year but a carnival that is free the whole day is beyond our budget. Our budget can only support so much. There were those on the Student Council who believed that we should take funds away from the class trips and the school festival. However, that would be unfair. The quality of the class trips will go down or worse, we may not have any. There is a suggestion that if the school wants this carnival, there will have to be fundraisers. But there are no guarantees that there will be a carnival. As of today, we are certain that there will be no carnival next month. Have a good day."

The loudspeaker went off. Immediately the class erupted into conversations. The teacher tapped her desk with a nearby ruler. "Class, please quiet down! I would like to resume the lecture!"

Five minutes later, Hitomi entered the classroom. Everyone looked at her. With a sigh, she quickly crossed the room and took her seat next to Ayame. She looked at Shigure and for a split second, their eyes met. Shigure was the one to break eye contact.

* * *

Lunch came. At this point of the day, Shigure was certain that Hitomi was avoiding him. Usually she would sit next to him, but today, she made sure to find a seat between Hatori and Ayame. Even though she was sitting across from him, eating her homemade onigiri, she made sure not to look at him. He couldn't tell if he should just give up hope now or if he should try to salvage whatever was left of their relationship.

"Can I have one of your cookies, Hitomi?" Ayame asked. Hitomi nodded and gave him a sugar cookie. Ayame took a bite and smiled. "Delicious as always. Gure, you should definitely try one."

Just at the suggestion had Hitomi going rigid.

Shigure sighed and stood up. He started to pack his lunch away.

"Where are you going?" Hatori asked.

"I'm going to eat outside," he said. "It's a nice day." Hitomi looked at him now, her eyebrows furrowed together in guilt.

"I can go," she offered, clearly knowing why he was leaving.

"Stay," he told her before he turned toward his best friends. "I'll see you after lunch." He picked up his stuff and left the classroom. He hadn't wanted to leave but he hated feeling that uncomfortable. What was worse, he was aware of just how uncomfortable his presence made Hitomi. It was frustrating. He wasn't sure if he should feel bad or just angry about this anymore.

"Shigure!"

The dog of the zodiac turned around. He found himself wishing that it had been Hitomi calling his name. However, it was only Akemi with her bleached hair and brilliant green eyes. Last time he had talked to the Student Council President was on the day of school elections. He had seen a few times since then but they hadn't stopped to chat. So why was she so eager to talk to him?

She walked up to him, holding her own lunch bag. "Where are you going off to?"

"Outside to eat lunch," he replied.

Akemi smiled too sweetly. "Can I join you?"

* * *

Now that Shigure thought about it, he really shouldn't have said yes to Akemi. He had thought he would eat outside, sort out his thoughts, find a way to smooth things over between him and Hitomi, and things would be okay again. However, he couldn't do that because Akemi was talking the usual girl gossip. He was only half-listening, giving the appropriate responses here and there. Finally, Akemi took a break and he was more relieved than he thought he would be.

Akemi finished the remains of her curry and drank from her water bottle. After a moment, she asked, "How close are you to Hitomi?"

Shigure gave her a weird look. "Why?"

Akemi shrugged. "Just curious. She's a tough girl to get close to, isn't she?" Shigure was just about to ask how did she know but Akemi continued. "I mean, I tried reasoning with her this morning about the carnival but she was being so prissy about it. No wonder she has so few friends. I'm not trying to be mean but it's true, isn't it?" She drank some more water. "But she likes you, right? You can reason with her, can't you? I mean, _everyone_ wants the carnival. It's only her that thinks it's not doable."

Shigure shrugged. "I doubt it." Despite his answer, Akemi continued on about how difficult Hitomi was. This time, Shigure drowned her out as he finished his lunch.

Even though Akemi was every bit as mean as she denied, the ninth grader spoke the truth. Hitomi was tough to get close to. She herself admitted that she had no real friends until she started hanging out with the trio. She was always quick to remove him and the others from any situations involving her mother. She didn't disclose what would happen when Minako was angry. Even though most of the zodiac members had been through similar situations, she had refused to tell Hatori and Ayame about the incident with her father. And the moment he tried to push their relationship a bit further, she had suddenly closed him off.

"You should really talk to her," Akemi suddenly said. "I'm sure she'll listen to you. She seems to like you a lot. Maybe you can convince her to tell the principal she made a mistake and holding the carnival _is_ possible."

"You really don't want to give up on this," Shigure commented.

"Of course not," Akemi said. "I made a promise to this school there will be a carnival one way or another." She turned around and frowned. "Speak of the devil."

Shigure looked behind him. It was Hitomi, who looked uncomfortable and a bit... rattled? He saw how her brown eyes moved back and forth between him and Akemi. He looked away, a part of himself determined to ignore her for now. But then he heard Hitomi say his name.

"Can I borrow Shigure, Akemi?"

"I'm talking to him," Akemi said, glancing Hitomi over with a scrutinizing eye. "Does it bother you? That I'm talking to him, I mean."

"No," Hitomi said flatly.

"Good," Akemi said. "Jealousy would only make you more unbecoming than you already are."

There was a pause. Shigure was almost certain that Hitomi was looking at him but he didn't dare check. He heard her sigh. "Okay. I'll talk to him later."

"I'm glad you understand," Akemi said, feigning as much kindness as she could. "Oh, and by the way, I'm calling an emergency Student Council meeting this afternoon."

"I can't go," Hitomi said quickly. "My mother is expecting me home right after school."

Akemi rolled her eyes. "Oh please. Just tell her you have Student Council duties. She'll understand."

"Fine," Hitomi said. "I'll tell her." Again, Shigure got that feeling that she was looking at him but soon he heard her walking away from him.

Akemi smiled and looked up at the cloudless sky. "It's such a nice day, isn't it?"

* * *

After school, Shigure found Hitomi at her locker. Reminiscent of this morning, he approached her but this time, he took the initiative. "Hitomi?"

She looked up at him. "Hey," she said somewhat reluctantly. "Um, I can't really talk right now. I have that meeting, remember?"

"But you don't want to go," he said. "Skip it."

She frowned. "For what?"

"So we can talk."

* * *

"**She gave me this look as if I was crazy and I couldn't blame her. She was one of those good students who couldn't dream of skipping anything. But I guess when she saw how serious I was being, she agreed to come with me that afternoon."**


	14. The Ascent: Underneath It All, Pt 2

**A/N: Here it is, the last chapter of The Ascent. Next week, Part Two of the story will start. I'm actually excited about that because there's a chance I can actually complete this story. Anyway, thanks to sanchezdianne, the first Anonymous, the second Anonymous, and IggywiLLsaVeMe2012 for their reviews. Enjoy!**

**THE ASCENT: Underneath It All, Pt 2**

To Shigure, bringing Hitomi to a playground seemed like a good idea. It was a short walk from their school, it was an open area, and most likely they wouldn't run into anyone they would know. The latter was definitely the most important reason. The playground itself was fairly huge. There were multiple jungle gyms, see-saws, swing sets, monkey bars, and other fun things for children to play on. Shigure and Hitomi looked like giants among all the kids running around. They had even earned a few stares from some parents. Still that didn't deter them.

Shigure found an unoccupied part of the playground. He led the sheep to a small swing set and sat down on one of the swings. Hitomi took the swing next to him. He didn't know whether she was nervous or uncomfortable but she was holding the chains too tightly.

"So, what do you have to say?" Hitomi finally asked, swaying a bit on her swing. Once again, Hitomi wasn't looking at him; she was looking at the ground.

Shigure thought for a moment. "You like me, right?"

"I told you before, didn't I?"

"Well, Hitomi, I'm asking you again."

"Why don't you try asking Akemi out?" She suggested, changing the subject. "She's pretty, I guess. I mean, it might be difficult with the curse-!"

"She's not my type."

"You don't even know what your type is."

"Apparently it's difficult girls." Hitomi opened her mouth to say something but she stopped herself. Instead, her feet lightly kicked up dirt as she gently swung back and forth. Shigure tried again. "Do you like me?"

Hitomi stopped swinging for a moment. After a deep breath, she said, "Remember that project we got a B on?" He nodded, not entirely surprised that she would still be offended by that grade. She sighed. "Before we were partners, everything was still normal."

* * *

"**I couldn't tell where she was going with this. I wanted to ask her what she meant by 'normal.' At the time though, I was smart enough to know that I shouldn't. Not when she was trying to find the words to finally open up."**

* * *

"I was..." There was another sigh on her part again as she was trying to find a starting place. "I knew how everything was supposed to be. I already knew my place.

"My mom... She was miserable because of me. If I hadn't been born, she would still have my father. Most importantly, she wouldn't be bound to the Sohma House. Since the day he left us, she reminded me constantly of what I had done. You'd think she would have left me then and move on. The Main House didn't care if she left. They just wanted me there. But how would _that_ be fair? Why should I have any chance of a being even a little bit happy when she would still be miserable?"

Shigure stopped moving on his swing, letting what she said sink in. "You don't actually believe that, right?" He asked quietly.

"For most of my life, I did, Shigure." Half-heartedly she pumped her legs, barely getting her swing to move back and forth. Her brown eyes focused straight ahead as her black hair moved with each motion.

Shigure watched her. For most of her life, she believed that everything that had happened to Minako was her fault. For most of her life... "When did you stop thinking that?" He asked her.

She shrugged. "Some time after we saw my father, I started to see things differently. You know," she suddenly said, slowing down on her swing, "If we hadn't worked on that project together, I would never have thought of asking you for that favor. We barely talked before then."

"I know," Shigure admitted. Back then, he had actually found her kind of annoying at one point. He hadn't been able to take her too seriously either. He had written her off as another Hari fangirl. "Sorry about that."

"It's okay. I thought you were an idiot anyway." He made a sound, causing her to finally look at him. Hitomi must have realized the effects of her words because she quickly corrected herself. "I _used_ to think that but I think a lot more of you now." Shigure was surprised by what she said and it seemed that she was, too. She started fumbling for words. "I mean... I think you're... you're..."

"I'm what?"

She looked away from him. Her grip on the swing only got tighter. "It doesn't matter. I don't know what made me think it was ever okay to allow anyone this close to me. I've been nothing but selfish the past few months. No wonder my mom has been so angry. She knew it was unfair."

* * *

"**Just like that, she had reverted and started to close up again. I finally understood the dynamics of Minako's relationship with Hitomi. Every word that Minako had ever said to Hitomi, she believed it. Even if a person on the outside knew how nonsensical it was, Hitomi couldn't see it that way. That was the kind of control Minako had on Hitomi and it bugged me."**

* * *

"That's the dumbest thing you've ever said, Hitomi."

At this, she scoffed. "I don't expect you to understand, Shigure."

"I understand fine, Hitomi," he told her. His face was impassive but everything he was feeling came out in his voice. "It's Minako that's selfish and it's dumb that you can't see that. Minako has never cared for you and the people who do care, those are the ones you want to stay away from. All because you foolishly think that giving up your own happiness will give Minako hers. It hasn't been working the last ten years, right? Why would it work now?"

He saw the panged expression on her face. His words had hurt her and while he hadn't meant them to, there was no other way he would have worded his thoughts. More than anything he wanted to free her from whatever mental hold Minako had. However, he wasn't sure what it would take to undo years and years of manipulation.

Hitomi stood up suddenly. With her back toward him, she asked him one question. "If my mom is selfish, then what does that make you?"

He thought about it for a moment. "I guess I'm selfish for wanting you."

She turned around and faced him. She looked like she was so close to tears. Shigure wasn't sure if it was from emotional hurt or anger. But behind that, he could see that she was afraid, that she was uncertain about what he was trying to do. It was why he stood up and approached her. Once he was close enough, he embraced her. Her brown eyes widened.

"And if you want, you can be selfish, too," he told her softly. "I wouldn't think any less of you, Hitomi, and Minako doesn't have to know if that's what's worrying you."

"She'll find out. She has been thinking that I... She has been suspecting the truth for a while now."

"She did I was the worse one, right?" It made sense now. Minako had never really liked Hatori and Ayame but she really didn't like him. Now he knew why. Somehow, Minako had been able to tell. Was because of the stupid comments he had made? Or had she been able to see from the way he interacted with Hitomi?

Hitomi suddenly pulled back and looked at the dog of the zodiac, worry etched onto her face. "I don't want to feel this way about you. It was bad enough that I was friends with you and Hatori and Aya. At least I can tell myself that it wasn't _entirely_ selfish to want a few people to talk with. But this? I can't lie to myself about this. I never imagined that you would like me. I never thought you would tell me and kiss me and tell me to do the same."

"You don't have to."

"But I want to."

"Then what's stopping you?"

Hitomi stared at him for a while, trying to make up her mind. She eventually took his face between her hands but she stopped there. Shigure covered her hands with his.

* * *

"**I was the one who kissed her."**

* * *

The walk back home to the Sohma Estate was a quiet one. For once though, the silence seemed natural. Shigure felt like he didn't have to try to fill it up and it seemed that Hitomi shared the same thoughts. She was content enough holding his hand, her fingers intertwined with his. While he would never admit it, holding her hand was almost as good as kissing. Every once in a while they would look at each other, share a small smile, and sheepishly look away.

It was when they reached Sohma property that they stopped holding hands. They continued to follow the path until they reach where they had to go their separate ways.

"I'll see you tomorrow at school, right?" Hitomi asked.

"Yeah," he said.

She smiled. "I'll see you tomorrow then." She started to walk off.

Suddenly, Shigure remembered something. "Hold on, Hitomi!" She turned around and waited to see what he wanted. Shigure searched his bag until he found what he was looking for. He pulled out the paper brown bag and gave it to her. "I got this for you in Paris. I would have given it to you yesterday but I heard you were busy."

"Yeah, I was. The Main House had come over."

"I know."

"Thank you." She gave him a quick hug before backing off again. "Bye, Shigure."

"Bye, Hitomi."

He stared at her as she hurried off toward her home. Then, when she was out of sight, he started heading to his. For the first time today, there wasn't a worry on his mind. Hitomi had come as close as possible to saying that she liked him and for him, that was fine. It was better than her saying that she didn't. It was a lot better than her claiming that she liked Hatori. When he reached his house, he was surprised to see Hatori and Ayame waiting outside for him.

"You just came back with Hitomi, right?" Hatori asked.

As Shigure looked for his house key, he listened to Hatori say how he hadn't thought things through. What if Akemi had called Hitomi's house looking for her and Minako picked up? Then what? Shigure hadn't thought about that. He had never considered that possible consequence of Hitomi skipping the Student Council meeting. But when else would he have ample time to talk to Hitomi? The meeting seemed like the perfect excuse for Hitomi to stay out late and Minako wouldn't question it.

"Did Akemi call?" He asked when he finally opened his front door. Looking inside, he sort of had the feeling that no one was home.

Hatori sighed but eventually he shook his head. "I convinced Akemi to talk to Hitomi in the morning about it."

Shigure took the news in good stride. "Then I guess there's nothing to worry about." He walked inside his house, his two best friends following him inside. Shigure could sense that Hatori was in disapproval of his nonchalant attitude about all this but luckily Ayame thought differently.

"So is everything okay between you and Tomi now?" Ayame asked.

Shigure grinned. "Everything's better than okay."

"Really?" Ayame asked, removing his shoes. "Is she your girlfriend now?"

"I guess you can say that," Shigure said as he kicked off his shows.

Ayame frowned. "You guess?"

"She didn't exactly say that but we did kiss and held hands."

Ayame fake-sniffled. "So it's over between us, Shigure?"

Hatori started to untie his shoelaces, trying his best to tune out his friends.

Shigure suddenly became melodramatic. "I'm afraid so, _mon ami_, but you will always be my first love!"

"As will you, Gure!"

"You know," Shigure said, smirking and looking at Hatori. "If you want to move on-!"

"Enough said, Gure!" Ayame interrupted. He turned toward his other friend with open arms. "Hari, let's-!"

"Don't get me involved," Hatori said, clearly not finding this amusing.

"Aw, what's wrong, Hari?"

The hallway phone rang and Shigure went to go pick it up. "Hello?"

"Shigure?"

Immediately, Shigure recognized Hitomi's voice. "Hitomi! I'm surprised that Minako let you used the phone." Already, he could feel Ayame and Hatori looking at him.

"Not exactly. She's in the shower so I figured it's best to call you now and get it over with."

"Did something happen?" He asked, preparing himself to hear her say she didn't want him anymore.

"Not really. I just wanted to say a couple of things."

"Like what?"

"Well, the first thing is, I really like your gift. I can't put it on right away but I will. Maybe when we can finally go on a date, which I'm hoping is soon."

Oh. So she wasn't dumping him. "What kind of date do you want?"

"I don't know. Surprise me."

Surprise her? He felt that he would have to come up with something incredible. Hopefully he had more than enough time to think of what their first date should be. He didn't want to disappoint her. "So what's the second thing?"

"The second thing is, I forgot to tell you something today. I, um... I really do like you, Shigure. A lot. I just thought you would like to hear that."

He smiled. "I like you, too."

"Good. I should go before my mom gets out of the shower. Bye."

"Bye." He hung up the phone and faced his friends. "Hitomi's definitely my girlfriend."


	15. The Fall: The First Date

**A/N: I'm so sorry! This was supposed to be up a while back. But my last few weekends had been so busy and my weekdays are already occupied with my internship. But here it is, the first chapter of The Fall. Surprisingly it's long. Anyway, thanks to sanchezdianne, DarkestInk, and "Guest" (I think you forgot to sign in?) for their reviews. I hope next chapter will be up soon but it might take a while because I'm not sure of my current idea yet. But yeah... I think this is as fluffy as the story will be for the next few chapters, possibly for the remainder. I guess will see. Till later!**

**THE FALL: The First Date**

He, Hatori, and Ayame were waiting at the Sohma Estate entrance for Hitomi. They were heading to school this warm morning. For whatever reason, Hitomi was running late. Just for a moment Shigure worried that maybe Minako had found out about what's been going on the last few weeks. Then finally Hitomi appeared, skipping toward them.

"You're happy," Hatori commented.

"I'm very happy," Hitomi grinned. She looked at Shigure, her smile widening. "We can go on a date Sunday if you want."

Shigure stared, very confused. "You asked Minako?"

She shook her head. "Of course not. She's just covering for someone at the nursing home Sunday afternoon and she's coming home late. We can have the whole day to ourselves."

Ayame nudged Shigure. "Hear that, Gure? The _whole_ day. Although you won't need the whole day to, you know."

Hitomi's face heated up. "We're not doing anything like that, Aya! We're going out on a date!"

It had been three weeks since Shigure and Hitomi got together. That time had been filled with warm embraces, hand-holding, and quick kisses but, thanks to Minako, no dates. Minako knew when Hitomi should be home. If Hitomi wasn't home at a certain time, Minako would begin to suspect the worse. Shigure had tried to convince Hitomi to skip a Student Council meeting again but with Akemi still angry about her skipping the emergency one, Hitomi didn't want to do that. So Shigure hadn't bothered thinking about a first date. Of course, he wouldn't dare tell his girlfriend that now.

Hitomi turned toward Shigure. "So what are we going to do on Sunday?"

"Er... Wouldn't you rather be surprised?"

"Oh, right," she said, smiling at him. "Then I'll wait to be surprised then." She turned toward Ayame and Hatori. "We should get going, right?"

"Yeah," Hatori said. "We don't want to be late."

After a morning full of classes, lunch came. Shigure wasn't sure if it was luck but Akemi walked into their classroom. Most people looked away from their bento boxes and stared at the fake blonde as she made her way across the room. Seeing how she was moving toward them, Shigure was almost positive she wanted to see Hitomi. Usually he would be a bit irritated but given what was coming up this weekend, he needed the advice of his best friends.

Akemi smiled way too sweetly as usual. "Can I borrow you, Hitomi?"

Hitomi sighed, putting down her chopsticks. "What for?"

Akemi rolled her eyes. "Student Council business obviously."

Hitomi stood up. "This might take a while." She left the room with Akemi.

"Do you know what's going?" Ayame asked Hatori.

"Akemi is still determined to throw the carnival," Hatori explained. "The Student Council has been discussing it ever since the Principal shut her initial idea down."

"Really?" Ayame looked at the door, almost as if he was expecting Hitomi to storm back in. "I'm surprised that Akemi is talking to Hitomi since, well, you know."

"It's not all that surprising," Hatori disagreed. "Hitomi's been somewhat nicer since she's been with Shigure. She's been a lot happier actually."

Shigure suddenly spoke up. "Hey, Aya, Hari, where would you take a girl on a first date?"

Hatori raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sure... You don't know where to take Hitomi?"

Shigure shook his head.

Ayame chuckled a bit. "That's really bad, considering you're dating her."

"It's not like I can't come up with something," Shigure said. "But I don't know if it will be good enough for her."

Ayame tilted his head to the side, as he thought it over. "Isn't it the thought that counts?"

"Ayame's right," Hatori said. "Hitomi will be happy as long as she gets to spend the day with you."

"So you say, Hari," Shigure said. "Still, the two of you can give me a few ideas, right?"

* * *

_Sunday..._

It was perfect weather for an August day. The sun was out, the sky was cloudless, and the breeze took away some of the heat. Shigure had dressed up as nicely as possible. In the back of his closet, he had found a blue button-down shirt he didn't know he had. He wore khaki pants and black shoes. As suggested by Ayame, he sprayed a little bit of his father's cologne on. After looking in the mirror, he decided to slick his hair back. Then he left for Hitomi's house. Along the way, he remembered something that Hatori said and he picked a white flower blooming on a bush.

He finally reached Hitomi's house. He ranged the doorbell and waited for what felt like an eternity, going through today's date in his mind. Finally the door opened. Shigure was trying to keep his composure but he couldn't help staring at her. He wasn't sure what it was. Maybe it was the way she had curled her hair. Maybe it was the way her brown and peach dress complemented her skin. Somehow she just looked good.

"Hi," she said. "You're on surprisingly on time."

His face heated up. "Yeah, um, this if for you," he said, holding the flower out to her. She took it from him.

"Thanks," she said. She looked behind her, not entirely sure of what to do with it. After a moment, she did the best thing she could think of; she put it in her hair. "Does it look good?"

"Perfect," he said.

She smiled and closed the door behind her. She stared at him for a moment, almost as if she was inspecting his attire. Then she reached out and messed up his hair, putting it back in its natural state. She pecked him on the lips. "Now you're perfect, too." She stood back and put her hands behind her back. "So, where are you taking me today?"

* * *

"**The first place we stopped by was the movies."**

* * *

After waiting on line for 15 minutes, it was finally Shigure's and Hitomi's turn to buy their movie tickets. The woman in the ticket booth looked at them through the window and quickly assessed their ages. "Date, right?"

Shigure smiled charmingly. "Yeah. Two tickets for _A Love Story_." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hitomi raise her eyebrows. The woman named the price of the tickets. Hitomi reached into her purse but Shigure stopped her. "I got this."

"I don't mind paying for myself."

"But I want to pay for my girlfriend," Shigure told Hitomi. He saw her blush and realized he had won the argument. He turned toward the woman and passed the money through the window slot. The woman printed out the tickets and handed them to Shigure. After a quick thanks, Shigure then took Hitomi to the concession stand to buy popcorn and drinks. Then they entered the theater section of the cinema.

"I didn't know you like romance movies," Hitomi said as they headed toward their theater. She was holding her giant cup while Shigure had the popcorn and his drink. Unlike him, Hitomi wanted to wait for the movie to start before she drank anything.

"I don't," Shigure said, taking a sip of his soda.

"So you're seeing a movie because you think I might like it."

"Do you like romance movies?" When she slowly shook her head, Shigure smirked. "Good because we're not seeing it."

"But you just bought tickets to see _A Love Story_."

"I know."

Her jaw dropped. "We're _sneaking_ into a different movie?"

He smirked. "They would never sell tickets for an R-rated movie to teens."

Just when he thought she couldn't be in any more disbelief, she nearly dropped her drink. "But we can't do that."

"Sure we can. I heard it's a really good slasher film."

"But we can get in trouble, Shigure."

"Hitomi, you trust me, right? We won't get in trouble. Besides, breaking the rules can be fun."

* * *

"**I partially insisted because Ayame said that girls were scared of horror movies. I'm not sure how right he was but Hitomi was scared. I got to hold her hand the whole movie."**

* * *

"So what's the next illegal thing we're going to do?"? Hitomi asked as they were leaving the theater.

Shigure wrapped an arm around her shoulders, drawing her closer. She titled her head up toward him, quirking an eyebrow at him to reiterate her question. He almost chuckled out loud. "Unless you want to rob a bank, nothing else."

"Really?"

"You liked the movie, didn't you?"

"That's beside the point."

"I doubt that, since you snuck in with me." He smiled when he saw the expression on her face. Apparently she couldn't defend against that one. She looked away from him, probably a bit annoyed that she couldn't answer back.

"What are we doing now?" Hitomi asked, changing the subject. "We have four more hours before my mom gets home."

"The beach."

"The beach?"

"Well, not to swim," he explained. "Maybe to walk around but definitely to get food."

"Great. I'm actually hungry. That popcorn was not enough."

* * *

"**Seeing her smile made me happy. It meant that I was doing everything right. I was determined to make sure that the date ended perfectly."**

* * *

The boulevard by the beach was crowded with people, which was surprising considering it was a Sunday night. Hitomi stuck close to Shigure, being just as careful as he was about where they were walking. Last thing they needed was for one of them to transform.

"Maybe this isn't such a great idea," Hitomi said, barely grazing one man's shoulder.

"We'll be fine," Shigure said. "I heard that there's a great food cart around here. The line might be long but the food will be worth it."

Finally Shigure spotted a long line up ahead. Sure enough it was the food cart he was looking food. It had a bright red awning. On it, in golden letters, were the words 'The Red Garden.' According to Ayame, it featured really good Asian cuisine.

"There it is," Shigure said. He started pulling Hitomi toward the cart. Then, just before they could take their place at the end of the line, a group of kids ran in front of them. In order to avoid catastrophe, Shigure stopped quickly. The group of kids consisted of seven boys and girls, somewhere between the ages of six and eight. They were screaming something about how they had 'it.' Shigure looked at Hitomi, now aware of how tightly she was gripping his hand. He smiled sheepishly at her. "See? Nothing to worry about."

* * *

"**I spoke too soon."**

* * *

"Come back here with Sissy!"

Shigure felt Hitomi trying to tug him out of the way. However, her reaction was just a second too late. Shigure felt a little girl crash into him. Naturally she fell backwards, but Shigure didn't. Instead he could feel himself undergoing the transformation.

He couldn't remember the last time he had changed into the dog of the zodiac. He had always been careful at the Sohma Estate and even more so at school. He had forgotten the uncomfortable feeling in the pit of his stomach as a burning sensation started in his fingers. He had even forgotten the puff of smoke that enveloped him.

"Shigure?" That was Hitomi's voice but it sounded louder, clearer even.

In the background, which also sounded louder than usual, was the crying of a girl. Shigure wriggled free out of his pants and shirt before running down the boulevard. His first instincts were to get far from the situation. Hitomi was a smart girl. She should be able to find him.

He slowed down to a trot when his paws hit sand. He had thought that after getting a bite to eat, this would have been their last destination of the night. Hitomi probably would have liked it. The moon looked huge in the cloudless night sky. Due to all the lights coming from the boulevard, the stars looked dim but they still contributed to the atmosphere. But Hitomi probably wouldn't notice the atmosphere, not when she had to worry about him being turned into a dog.

Shigure sat there on the beach waiting, watching as the waves moved back and forth on the sands. After a few minutes, his dog ears perked up at the sound of san shifting beneath feet. He turned his head and saw Hitomi. All of his clothes, including his shoes, were in her arms. She walked up to him. He had thought that she would have been upset or annoyed or even wearing the exasperated I-told-you-so look but the smallest of smiles graced her lips.

"You're lucky no one saw," she said. She sat down on the sand in front of him. "The girl couldn't really see anything through all the waterworks. And by the time people even started paying attention, there were people blocking you from sight."

"Are you sure no one saw?" He asked.

"Trust me, okay? No one saw or else someone would have said something."

He hung his head low, his ears dropping. "I'm sorry about this."

"It's okay." He looked up into her warm brown eyes. "It's not often I get to see you like this."

There was a puff of smoke again. Hitomi squeaked and turned around quickly. Shigure chuckled as he stood up. "It's not often you get to see me like this either."

"I've never seen you like that and I don't think I ever want to!" She said as indignantly as possible.

"Think?" He questioned, clearly amused.

She started blushing. Without even sparing a glance, she threw his clothes back at him. "You should get dressed before someone sees you."

He started to get dressed, thinking of what to do. They only had three hours left to spend with each other. They still haven't gotten dinner. They hadn't done the last thing on his list either. As he buttoned up his shirt, he looked over his shoulder. Like expected, Hitomi had her back toward him. "Want to go somewhere less crowed? It probably won't be as good as the Red Garden but-!"

"I'm okay with that," she interrupted. "I just want to spend the rest of the evening with you, Shigure." She tentatively looked back. A look of relief passed over her face when it was only his shoes he had off. "So far, I've been having fun."

She did look happy to be here with him. It was all in her eyes. That was when Shigure realized that there was some truth in Hatori's words earlier this week. He was partly responsible for this happier Hitomi.

She stood up and brushed the sand off the bottom of her dress.

"Ready?" He asked. He frowned when she started giggling. "What?"

"Maybe you should put on your shoes first."

Shigure blushed. "Oh. Right."

* * *

Shigure and Hitomi got back half past nine. They had only thirty minutes to kill. They used that time to slowly walk around the estate before returning to Hitomi's house. They walked in silence for a while, side by side, finding comfort in the other's presence. The two wanted to hold hands but couldn't, just in the off chance of getting caught. Reluctantly Shigure walked Hitomi to her front door.

"I had a great time tonight, Shigure," she told him. "Even with all the other stuff."

"So I surprised you then," Shigure said, unable to hide his smirk.

"I was pleasantly surprised," she said.

They looked at each other, neither one sure of how to say goodbye. Finally Hitomi wrapped her arms around Shigure's neck and kissed him. Usually their kisses were quick but this... After a few moments, Shigure wrapped his arms around Hitomi's waist and kissed her back. It felt like Heaven. But for as long as it lasted, it still felt short. Hitomi slowly pulled away.

"Have a good night, Shigure."

"You, too."

She looked at him one more time before she opened the front door and went inside. Smiling to himself, he started to head back home. Despite a few setbacks, tonight had gone well. Hitomi had enjoyed herself and so had he. He wasn't sure when he could take her out again though. How often would Minako cover for someone at work? She wasn't that nice of a person.

He must have been fifty yards from Hitomi's place when he heard a voice:

"What are you doing here?"

Shigure stopped and looked to his left. There was Minako, staring at him in confusion. At first he didn't know why. Then he remembered that his house was in a different part of the estate. Before he could make something up, Minako fired another question.

"Were you with Hitomi?"

He had caught it in her voice, the sheer distaste at the very idea yet she had asked about it anyway. Quickly Shigure shook his head.

"Then what are you doing here?"

Minako either knew he was lying or always assumed that he was. Either way, it didn't help his situation. There was only one thing he could do in this situation to save his hide and protect Hitomi.

Shigure looked away, trying to be calm and collected. "I'll admit it. I went to visit your daughter."

Minako's eyes narrowed. Usually Minako liked to keep up a somewhat motherly act to prove she wasn't so bad, just a victim of the circumstances. But recently, she had nothing but anger to offer. And it was written all over her face. She took a step forward. Somehow the dog of the zodiax was good enough to stand his ground.

"Let me guess – she was being a filthy slut with you."

Shigure was almost speechless. "No, she wasn't."

"Really?" Again, he could sense her disbelief.

"Yeah. I wanted to come in but she turned me down."

"And you expect me to believe that, Shigure?"

He looked her in the eye, finding his courage again. "I'm not exactly hiding how I feel about her."

Minako tried to laugh it off. "Seriously?"

Once he saw that the woman had been caught off guard, it became surprisingly easier to keep going. "I do," he said, watching her face as her laughter died off. "Hitomi's a smart, pretty girl. Why is it so hard to believe someone likes her? Right now Hitomi doesn't feel that way about me but I'm going to convince her."

Minako had nothing to say. Shigure fought hard to suppress his smile.

* * *

"**I told Minako to have a good night and left. I was pleased with myself. I felt like nothing could go wrong."**

* * *

No sooner than when Shigure got through the door, the house phone rang. He paused, his mind immediately going to Minako. He head the soft footsteps of his mother going to answer the phone. As he removed his shoes at the door, he waited for him mother to freak out. He was surprised when his mother came out into the hallway and told him it was his call.

He went to the living room and picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Shigure?"

It was Hitomi. Already he started to worry. "Did something happen?"

"Well, kinda..."

Kinda? What did that mean?

Hitomi continued. "My mom said I shouldn't talk to you. In fact, I should stay far away from you. But, since we live on the same estate and are in the same class, it might be hard to do."

Shigure smiled. "Yeah. That would be tough."

"Personally I don't think I could stay away from you... Anyway," she said, changing topic. "I go now before my mom catches me. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah. Good night." Shigure put the phone back on the hook. He turned around and nearly jumped when he saw his mom behind him.

"Is there something going on between you and Hitomi?"

"We're just friends," he said automatically.

"That's it?"

"That's it."


	16. The Fall: All For the Money

**A/N: I had some difficulty writing this chapter. But here it is! I think next chapter will be easier to write. It will focus on Shigure, Hitomi, and Minako. Anyway thanks to sanchezdianne, cherryblossom014, and Kendra Harrison for the reviews. :) **

**THE FALL: All for the Money**

"**The next exciting thing happened about three weeks after our first date..."**

"_Good morning everyone!"_

Shigure's head snapped up at the voice coming from the PA system. He hadn't been paying his History teacher's lecture much mind. In fact, he had been entertaining himself by passing notes to Ayame and even to Hitomi. Cracking jokes here, flirting there – that was the only way to keep himself from falling asleep. Until now. He had no problem recognizing the chirpy, possibly sickening sweet voice of Akemi.

He turned toward his friends and his girlfriend to see if they were just as surprised as he was. Ayame had his eyebrows furrowed together but Hitomi and Hatori looked like they had been expecting this.

"_I have wonderful news,"_ Akemi continued, sounding as if she was all smiles. _"Thanks to me, your Student Council President, the carnival is on!"_

"Seriously?" Ayame asked excitedly. He looked at Hitomi and Hatori for an explanation. However Hitomi just sighed and Hatori remained silent.

"_But for this carnival to happen, I need each and every student's help! Each class will need to take part in some community service this weekend..."_

"Community service?" Ayame asked, losing some of his excitement. It wasn't just him though; some of their classmates broke out into loud whispers about it.

"Class, please quiet down!" Their homeroom teacher said, using her hands to emphasize her words. "Your president is still talking!"

"_... Since it's only Tuesday and most community service will be take place on Sunday, each class will have plenty of time to decide on a community service project. Your class reps will provide you with tons of options. Almost all of them will require at least eight hours and there will be some that require you to go out of town. But don't worry! I promise that they're all fun! If every class completes their project, then we will be rewarded with the carnival. Attendance is mandatory so unless you're on your deathbed, you better show up! You don't want to..."_

"Hatori!" The dragon of the zodiac turned around and saw it had been a girl that had called him. "Why isn't it on a school day? I made plans this weekend!"

"The principal didn't want to give up a school day for something that he didn't see as 'important enough.'"

"That totally sucks!" The girl said, turning back toward her corner of friends. "I finally had a date!"

"So what are we doing?" Shigure asked his girlfriend, poking her in the ribs.

"Well," Hitomi started, fending off the next poke. "We can choose from playing with children at a children's hospital, helping at an animal shelter, building a garden but I think you have to go outside of town for that. Um, there's something with painting and also something with cleaning up litter on a beach. There's a ton of other things I can't remember but they're not too bad."

"_That's all I have to say!" _Akemi finally finished. _"Have a good morning everyone! And yay for the carnival!"_

* * *

"**After classes ended for the day, Hitomi and Hatori held a vote for what project we wanted. I think Ayame wanted to help at the animal shelter. I wanted to pick up litter at the beach. I thought that if we finished early, we could go swimming. But our class decided on the children's hospital."**

* * *

The class had agreed on showing up at around 8am. Because Hitomi and Hatori were their class representatives, they had to arrive earlier to make sure everything was set up. Even though Ayame had asked on the way there, Shigure would never admit that he was sort of jealous of Hatori. Not necessarily for the reasons Ayame suggested – Hatori had already admitted that he didn't see Hitomi that way – but because he was part of an integral part of Hitomi's life, the Student Council. There had been more meetings than usual in the past three weeks and the time the two would walk home together had become scarce. So yeah, Shigure was a little jealous and as much as he wanted to, he doubted he could spend any real time with Hitomi today.

When Shigure and Ayame finally arrived, they were surprised to see the rest of their classmates there. They were sitting in the lounge area, chatting. The only two missing were Hitomi and Hatori. Finally, the two walked into the lounge area from an adjoining hallway. With them was a nurse carrying a clipboard.

Hitomi pointed her finger around, most likely doing a quick headcount, before she whispered something to Hatori. Hatori nodded as his eyes moved across the room. Briefly he made eye contact with his two best friends before he looked at the class at whole.

"Thank you everyone for showing up on time this morning," he said, maybe too formally. "We know some of you had plans today but this is really for a good cause. There are lots of children here who need some cheering up, whether they will get better or not. So be as considerate and as thoughtful as possible when you're with them. Um, Hitomi, you want to add anything?"

She shook her head. "Nope. You pretty much covered everything. I guess, um, Ms. Tanaka will tell you which child you're assigned to and where you can find them. If you don't know where to go, you can ask her."

"Thank you, Hitomi," the nurse said, beaming at the class. "I really glad that you're willing to help out here today and I'm certain that the children are, too. When I told them about today earlier this week, they were very excited about the news. I'll go through the assignments..." She glanced down at her clipboard before announcing the first pairing. "Sohma Ayame, in Room 202, you will find Yu..."

One by one, the students headed toward the stairs or elevator. By the end of it all, it was just Shigure, the nurse, Hatori, and Hitomi left. Hitomi and Hatori already had their assignments; they were just waiting for Shigure to get his. "Sohma Shigure, you're going to Room 543. It's a special case so I'll talk to you about it on the way there, okay?"

"Um, sure," he said. Hatori and Hitomi decided to head toward the stairs since their patients were on the second floor. Just as they were about to pass him, Hitomi gave Shigure's shoulder a light squeeze. He quickly looked back and caught her smile. "I'll see you at lunch okay?"

"Can't wait."

"This way, Shigure," Ms. Tanaka said.

Shigure followed the nurse to the elevator. "So what do you mean by 'special case'?" He asked. "Is he dying?"

"No," the nurse said as they stepped into the elevator. "_She_ is actually recovering. When she arrived her three weeks ago, we were quite worried that she wasn't going to make it."

"What happened to her?"

"Her mom tried to kill her."

* * *

Shigure knocked on the door of Room 543. "Kohana?" He peered into the room. He spotted the small, frail girl on the bed. Her big dark eyes were already on him. Almost immediately he felt his heart twisting. He found his eyes traveling to the broken leg and to the faint yellowish bruises on her skin. He felt somewhat embarrassed when she noticed him staring.

"Sorry," he apologized as he entered the room. He pulled a chair beside her bed. "I'm Shigure. Nice to meet you." He gave her one of his charming smiles but she just stared at him. Shigure quickly looked around the room for something and spotted a children's book. He went over and picked it up. "Should I read this to you?"

Unfortunately the book was not enough to fill up what would be an awkward four hours. As slow as he read and as much time as he took to show off the pictures, it took a whooping thirty minutes. Shigure then opted for doing what he thought was best; he found a nurse to bring in a TV cart so they could watch a couple of movies. Before he knew it, there was a knock on the door.

Shigure grinned when he saw who it was. "It's lunchtime already, Hitomi?"

"Yup." Hitomi had returned his grin but she lost it when she saw Kohana. Her expression darkened for a split second before she forced a half-smile on her face. "Hi."

Kohana didn't respond.

Shigure sighed as he got up. He paused and looked back at Kohana. "I'll bring you something good, okay?"

"She doesn't talk much, does she?" Hitomi asked after they left the room.

Shigure almost laughed. "She doesn't talk at all. Can't blame her though. Her own mother tried to kill her."

Hitomi nodded. "I know."

"You do?"

"Yeah. The other nurses thought this might not be a good idea but Ms. Tanaka didn't think it would be right to leave Kohana out of this when it could be helpful. Hatori thought that I should do it."

"So why didn't you?" Shigure asked.

"Well," she started, trying to find the right words. "I'm sure I would just wallow in my own problems. Besides, I thought you would be able to do a better job. You might trick her into saying something. It's what you like doing."

"Is that so?" Without warning, he placed his hands on Hitomi's waist and steered her toward the nearest wall. He gave her a mischievous smirk. "So you think I'm manipulative?" He asked.

"Yes but I don't always object."

"When do you object?"

"Like now," she said, staring a couple of nurses. The two nurses were heading into a different hallway but their eyes were still on the teenagers.

Shigure gave them a disarming smile, hoping they weren't taking note.

"We should go to the cafeteria anyway," Hitomi said. "You don't want to keep Kohana waiting. Besides I have to relieve my kid from Aya and Hatori. He can be _quite_ a handful." She slipped her hand into Shigure's.

"He is?"

"Yeah and you might even have competition. He proposed to me this morning."

Shigure laughed. "Yeah, like you would choose a little kid over me."

Hitomi smiled. "You never know."

* * *

"I'm back with lunch, Kohana," Shigure announced when he came into the room. In his hands were two brown paper bags. He put his on the bedside table. Then he went around and pulled out the bedside tray for Kohana. "I wasn't sure what to get you," he explained as he laid out her lunch. "But Hitomi said kids like finger foods and-!"

"Is that the same girl from earlier?"

Shigure nearly knocked over Kohana's small bottle water. "Yeah, it is," he said, wondering why the girl was so eager to talk.

"... Does her mommy hit her?"

Shigure stopped moving. "W-what would make you say that?" He knew Minako was mean to Hitomi but he always assumed it was verbal attacking. Had he been missing signs that something else was happening? He looked at Kohana, his eyebrows furrowed. "Did you see any-!"

Kohana shook her head. "She just looked at me differently, that's all."

"What do you mean?"

"She didn't look too sorry for me, more like she had, um-!"

"Understanding?" Shigure finished. Kohana thought for a moment before she slowly nodded her head.

"Do you think her mommy tried to kill her?"

Shigure quickly shook his head, not entirely sure who he was trying to assure here. "Of course not. Her mom might act crazy but she's not that crazy..." His voice trailed off. His mind kept going back to Hitomi and Minako. Had Minako every tried?

"My mommy tried to because I did something really, really bad."

"I'm sure it wasn't your fault, Kohana," Shigure said.

"Then whose fault is it?"

* * *

After they finished for the day, Shigure took Hitomi on an ice cream date. He had hoped he could have talked to Hitomi then about stuff but by the time he had the courage, they were back on Sohma property. Although it was pretty late into the afternoon, the sun was still up so there were little kids running around. Shigure and Hitomi didn't hold hands until the sounds of happy children were far behind them. It was until they were sure that no one was nearby that they shared their first kiss of the day.

"I wish I can stay with you all afternoon," Hitomi said when they separated. "But my mom would get really upset."

"... What's 'really upset'?"

Hitomi shrugged. "It varies."

"... Minako wouldn't hit you, right?"

Hitomi frowned. "Why would you..." After some thought, she had a small smile on her face but it was slightly unsettling. She leaned back against a nearby tree, never taking her brown eyes off him. "Is that what you got from your time with Kohana? That my mom _might_ hit me?"

"You're making it sound like a stupid idea."

"Because it kinda is," she said. "If my mom was, I think you would know by now."

* * *

"**I wanted to say that I probably wouldn't know, that she probably wouldn't tell me and that she would probably go out of her way to hide it. But I knew if I said that, she would only be more upset."**

* * *

"Maybe," Shigure said, not wanting to admit that he could be wrong about this. "...Not even when you were younger?"

"Shigure-!"

"Okay, okay, I'll drop it," Shigure told her, finally giving up. "But you'll say something if she does, right?"

"I will," Hitomi promised. She pushed herself off the tree and wrapped her arms around Shigure's neck. "You shouldn't worry over nothing, Shigure."

He wasn't sure how to respond to that. He wasn't even sure if it really _was_ nothing. But Hitomi seemed set on making it seem so and he wasn't going to voice all the terrible things he had concluded about that woman. He wrapped his arms around her. "You sure you want to go home?"

"I'm sure," Hitomi replied, pulling away. She laced her fingers in his and gently tugged him toward the direction of her house. "Come on. You still have to walk with me some more."

"Hitomi!"

Hitomi gasped and quickly let go of Shigure's hand. Whether it was done in time or not, Minako finally emerged. She looked upset but when she saw Shigure, she suddenly became livid. Her eyes darted back and forth between the two zodiac members.

"You're with Shigure," Minako stated, folding her arms. "I guess this is why you're not home yet."

"It's not his fault," Hitomi said quickly. "Some classmates were getting some ice cream and I wanted to go with them."

"And yet all these other classmates went home and here you are alone with Shigure. Ayame and Hatori aren't even here."

"He offered to walk me home. That's it."

"Really, Hitomi? Because I feel like there's something more going on here. And I will find out what that is."

Hitomi cast her gaze downward, shifting her weight to the back of her feet. Shigure didn't know if he should speak up or defend Hitomi. All he could think about was what Kohana had said. He moved just a bit but it was enough to get Minako's attention. She gave him such a disgusted look, like he was the cause of this.

"Leave, Shigure."

Shigure smiled. "Hitomi?" Hitomi looked at him, clearly apprehensive about what he was about to say or do. Normally he would be considerate of Hitomi's feelings but he wanted to annoy Minako badly. He winked at his girlfriend, causing her to blush and her mother to nearly drop her jaw. "I'll see you tomorrow."

* * *

"Your idea of upsetting my mom is terrible," Hitomi later told Shigure over the phone. It had been a little over an hour since they had last seen each other. Hitomi would only call so soon if it was important and judging by the tone of her voice, it probably was.

"How so?"

"How so? My mom absolutely hates you and she's beginning to think that this isn't as one-sided as you claim it to be."

"I have no problem telling Minako how I feel."

"Well, I can't tell my mom how _I _feel. She'd kill me, figuratively speaking of course."

Shigure raised an eyebrow at that comment.

"And that wink-!"

"I was messing with her-!"

"I think she got that much, Shigure. Are you trying to make things more difficult for me?"

"Can things get more difficult?"

"Honestly, I don't want to find out. She already asking me if I'm being a slut-!"

"Because normally I shouldn't want anything to do with you."

"Exactly." Hitomi sighed. "She asked me about your parents today."

"What for?"

"I don't know but I think she wants to talk to them or something."

* * *

"**Hitomi was only half right. But I don't either of us could have imagined a joint family dinner."**


	17. The Fall: That Kind of Girl

**A/N: Hey! This is a pretty quick update. This chapter was easier to write for some reason. Maybe because Minako is in it and as terrible as she is, it's interesting to write with her. Originally I was going to call this chapter The Dinner but the current title is much better and works with everything in the chapter. Anyway, thanks to sesshbaby for the review. Enjoy!**

**THE FALL: That Kind of Girl**

Shigure looked at himself in the mirror. He was wearing a white dress shirt and black slacks. If he hadn't been able to convince his mother, he would have been wearing a tie, too. He didn't get why his parents insisted on dressing so nicely. They were just going to Minako's house for dinner. It wasn't anything formal. They were just going so Minako could chew him out in front of his parents. It had been three days since that Sunday and all he could do was think about how he could have prevented this. Maybe he shouldn't have walked Hitomi home. Or maybe he shouldn't have winked at her in front of Minako. Maybe if he had taken Hitomi straight home from the hospital-

"Shigure!" His mother called. "It's time to go! We don't want to be late!"

Shigure sighed. He really didn't want to go. He had even considered pretending to be sick. However, he didn't want to leave Hitomi by herself.

* * *

"Welcome!" Hitomi beamed when she opened the door. Shigure's parents might have thought it was a real smile but Shigure could easily tell it was forced. His parents went inside and removed their shoes before searching for Minako. Shigure lingered behind, waiting for his parents to leave them alone.

"You look nice," Shigure said as he slowly removed his shoes. Hitomi was wearing a simple purple dress today. As simple as it was, though, it still carried a formal look to it. Hitomi had put her black hair back into a bun and was wearing pink lipstick, which was unlike her. "I didn't think you wear makeup."

"My mom said I should look nice," Hitomi shrugged. "It's not often we have guests for dinner. Actually I don't think we _ever_ had guests for dinner."

"My family must be special then." He looked at his girlfriend, seeing every worry etched onto her features. She was clearly more worried about this dinner than he was. He was worried but not _that_ worried; the most Minako could do was ask his parents a bunch of question they didn't have the answers to. The worst thing that could be said was that maybe he and Hitomi had quick conversations over the phone. What would that prove?

"Hello, Shigure."

The two teens turned around and saw Minako standing in the hallway with her arms folded across her chest. Her face was expressionless. Any sign of life was only in her dark eyes. For some reason, it seemed like she was struggling to not bite his head off. "I hope Hitomi's not boring you," she went on. "Some of the things she says can be pointless."

Shigure slowly shook his head. "She's not." Normally he would have a more clever comment but with his parents just in the other room, he didn't want to say anything risky.

"Let's go to the dining room," Minako said with a forced smile. She waited for the two to walk on ahead before trailing behind them. Shigure could feel her eyes boring into the back of his skull as he walked beside his girlfriend. He tried to steal a glance from Hitomi but she kept her eyes straight ahead.

At the dining room table, which was covered in food, his parents were already sitting down next to each other. There were only three more seats available around the table. Shigure took the seat next to his father. Hitomi made a move for the seat next to his mother but Minako stopped her.

"Why don't you sit next to Shigure, Hitomi?" She suggested.

Hitomi stared at her mother but all the woman did was merely raise an eyebrow at her. Hitomi moved over a seat and sat down next to Shigure, keeping her hands neatly folded on her lap. She seemed rigid, uncomfortable even. Shigure couldn't tell if it was because of him or if it was because of Minako's strange behavior. Shouldn't she be trying to keep them apart?

Minako sat down in the last seat and looked at everyone at the table. "Why don't we dig in?"

* * *

"**The beginning of dinner was quiet. The most said was by my mother, who commented on how good the food was. Maybe after fifteen minutes of silence, my father spoke up."**

* * *

"It's been a while since we've seen you, Hitomi," Shigure's father said. "The last time was on New Years'."

"Really?" Minako interrupted. The man looked at her questioningly. Minako quickly regained her composure and explained. "Hitomi seems to spend quite a bit time with Shigure these days. I was certain that she must have been to your home at least _once_ in the past few months."

"Possibly when we're not home," the man admitted, looking at his son almost accusingly. "Although, I would trust Shigure not to have a girl over when we're not home. For obvious reasons."

Shigure wasn't sure what those 'obvious reasons' were, whether they applied to his curse or to other things. Minako, who probably knew, forced another one of her smiles. "Of course. I warn Hitomi not to be _that_ kind of girl. Often I wonder if she heeds my warning when I'm at work or elsewhere."

"I do," Hitomi said, almost inaudibly.

Minako returned to her food, pausing only to say, "Of course you do, Hitomi."

Shigure's mother quickly changed the subject. "My husband is right, though. It's been a while since we've seen your daughter. She looks even more like you than last time."

A strange look passed over Minako's face and it disappeared almost as quickly. She turned toward Hitomi as if trying to see any truth in that statement. Shigure could see how uncomfortable Hitomi was feeling. Her brown eyes refused to look at her mother but her hand was shaking as she cut another potato.

"What do you say, Hitomi?" Minako prompted.

"...Was that a compliment?"

Her mother narrowed her eyes. "Is it _not_ a compliment?"

Hitomi started playing around with her potato, seemingly lost in thought. "...My father told me the same thing."

There was an awkward silence. Out of the corner of his eye, Shigure saw his parents exchanged looks.

"I think it is a compliment," Shigure interrupted, trying to take some of the heat off Hitomi. "Your mom's hot."

"Shigure!" His mother exclaimed.

"Apologize to Minako now!" His father ordered.

"It's okay," Minako said, as if she wanted to diffuse the situation. "Your son has always been an upfront sort of person. He's even been upfront about his feelings for Hitomi."

"His _what_?"

"Feelings," Minako repeated casually. "He really likes my daughter."

Shigure's father turned toward the dog of the zodiac.

"In fact," Minako continued. "He's determined to get her to reciprocate his feelings."

Shigure didn't dare look at his father. Instead he focused on the witch of a woman sitting not too far from him. Even if he wanted to claim that Minako was lying – and the sad thing was, she wasn't – his parents wouldn't believe him. It was his word versus hers and since she was the adult, she would win.

"Don't be upset," Minako said before Shigure's father could berate his son. "I think it's sweet. For the longest while, Hitomi had no self-confidence." Suddenly Hitomi's fork clattered on the wooden floor. This disturbance caused Minako to pause only briefly. As Hitomi went to retrieve her fork, the woman continued. "Ever since her father left, she believed that she mattered to no one. Not even me. It's one of the reasons she tries so hard to please everyone. These days, however, I feel like she's changing for the worse."

Shigure's mother frowned. "In what way?"

"I don't think it would be fair to Hitomi to tell you," Minako said, frowning a bit. "We always try to be fair to each other and I wouldn't want to break that sacred trust." The woman looked around the table and smiled. "It looks like everyone's done. I'll get dessert then."

When she stood up, Hitomi stood up as well. "Hitomi, you don't have to help. I can take care of the dessert."

"I don't want dessert," she said. "I want to wash the dishes."

"You don't have to do it now, Hitomi. Sit."

"No, no, I should. There's a lot of them." Hitomi quickly started to pile plates on top of plates, reaching over Shigure awkwardly to stack more. "If I do it now, I can go to bed early. It's a school night after all." With the stack of dishes, she disappeared into the kitchen. She came out shortly to get more.

Minako smiled, this time with a little less force. "She really does try," she said before looking at each of her guests. "I'll be back with dessert." With that, she disappeared after her daughter.

Shigure could feel his parents' eyes on him, demanding an explanation. But where should he start? He could start with how Minako was a bitch but that might not go over so well. His parents hated that type of language. So he went for the classic opener. "It's not as terrible as it seems."

"Are you together with that girl?" His mother demanded.

"No," he said automatically. He wasn't about to admit anything to his parents only for it to reach Minako's ears. He was sure that this was what she wanted. Although, now that he thought about it, it was probably one of a few things. This dinner was turning into a complete mess for everyone but Minako. He didn't understand how that woman could paint herself in such a positive light.

Minako came back with a tray. On it were wine glasses, each filled with two kinds of gelatin, whip cream, strawberries, peaches, and cherries layered. She placed one in front of each guest before sitting down with her own. Before she picked up her spoon, she made eye contact with Shigure. "Why don't you join Hitomi? She might be lonely washing those dishes in the kitchen."

Shigure frowned. He wanted to go but he honestly didn't know if that was because he really wanted to or Minako was manipulating him. Still, he stood and picked up his dessert. "I will."

Once inside the kitchen, he felt momentarily relieved to be away from his parents and Minako. Sure his leaving gave Minako the opportunity to interrogate but at least he got to be with _her_. Placing his dessert on the counter, he approached Hitomi. Hitomi still had her back toward him as she scrubbed a plate furiously. She jumped when he touched her shoulder.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Yeah," she said. "I'm fine."

Shigure sighed as he leaned against the counter. "I guess I'm terrible at this boyfriend job, huh?"

Hitomi shook her head as she rinsed the soap off a plate. "No, you're not. You've been trying to help me. I don't understand why though."

"You do. It's the only truthful thing Minako said tonight." Shigure really did like Hitomi, more than that even. Maybe it was written all over his face because she said:

"I don't even understand why you like me so much."

It had been a while since he had heard that one. Actually he had hoped he would never hear it again. He reached over the sink and turned off the water, capturing her attention. "It's because you're amazing, Hitomi."

"I don't feel like it." Hitomi dropped the sponge and faced Shigure. She was clearly troubled by something and Shigure was sure it had to do with Minako. That could mean anything. The sheep sighed. "My mom was right about another thing. It is sweet of you to pity me like this."

He frowned. "When did your mom say that?"

"During dinner," Hitomi replied. "Just not in those exact words."

"I don't pity you, Hitomi."

"Are you sure that's not the reason you're with me now?"

"It's not," he reiterated. "I'm with you because I..." Shigure looked away. He liked the girl who could stand up to someone like Akemi, the girl who could yell at him when he did something stupid, the girl who was not afraid to admit her mistakes, the girl who was willing to save a brother she didn't even know she had. He wanted to tell her that was the girl he liked but he didn't know how. So he took her hand in his, his thumb passing over the back of it. For a moment the two looked at their joined hands in silence. Then they looked at each other, both of them wondering if the other felt what they felt.

Shigure remembered his heart racing when Hitomi pressed her lips to his. Despite trying not to lose himself, as the kiss became more affectionate, that was what happened. Shigure was focused on her and only her. He enjoyed the softness of her lips, the way she clutched onto him – it only made him hold her even closer. _If _that was even possible anymore. At one point, the kitchen clock read eight-ten. At another point, it read eight-twenty-three. Shigure realized several problems with that already.

"Normally I wouldn't want to, Hitomi, but we should stop," Shigure said, his eyes moving to the kitchen door.

Hitomi stopped kissing his neck. "Oh. Right. My mom."

To be honest, Shigure was surprised that Minako hadn't come into the kitchen yet. They had just made-out under her nose for at least fifteen minutes, possibly longer. Even though he was tempted to continue, he reluctantly let go of Hitomi.

"Shigure! Hitomi!" Minako was calling them.

"Coming!" Hitomi said, pulling away and quickly heading back to the dining room.

Shigure followed her out of the kitchen. It seemed like his parents were ready to go. They were standing up, their dessert gone. Seeing their empty glasses made Shigure remember his dessert was still untouched in the kitchen. Would that look suspicious to Minako? He could always say he didn't like gelatin but he wasn't sure if she would buy that.

"How are the dishes coming?" Minako asked Hitomi.

"Alright," Hitomi lied.

Shigure noticed his mother giving him a strange look as if there was something on his face. "Is something wrong, mom?"

She seemed unsure about whether she should ask what was on her mind but she did so anyway. "Is that lipstick on your mouth?"

Shigure blinked. "What?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Shigure could see Minako looking at him. Finally it hit him. Hitomi had been wearing lipstick tonight. Before he could quickly wipe off the evidence, his mother was in front of him with a napkin in her hands, wiping whatever lipstick that was there off. After she quickly inspected the napkin, her eyebrows rose in alarm. "It is!"

"Where did that come from?" His father asked.

"I think it's obvious," Minako said, looking at her daughter. "I don't know what to think anymore. Whether it's Shigure's fault or Hitomi's just that kind of girl."

* * *

"**I had severely underestimated Minako. She had found out what she wanted to know and now my parents also knew the truth. And ultimately, I had put Hitomi in position she shouldn't be in. I never thought things could get so bad. Unfortunately they only got worse..." **

* * *

"You're right, Mom," Hitomi said. "I am that kind of girl. I kissed Shigure. I made out with him. I met him in secret multiple times..."It was liked a dam had just burst opened. That was how bad it was. Hitomi was coming clean about everything, listing every 'crime' ever committed. Shigure was stunned; he didn't know what to say or do. Minako wasn't smiling but her eyes held a satisfied look to them, like this was what she had been waiting for.

"...and last Sunday when I said our class went for ice cream after the hospital thing? That was a lie. It was just another date with Shigure so I can be alone with him and make out and do all kinds of other stuff. I'm sorry for being a liar and a slut and a horrible daughter, okay?"

Minako took a deep breath, taking on the role of the shocked but still very concerned mother. "We have a lot to talk about, Hitomi."

"We should leave then," Shigure's father said. "We have a lot to discuss with our son as well."

Minako's eyebrows knitted together. "I'm so sorry for how everything turned out tonight. I really am."

* * *

"**She wasn't, of course, but my parents couldn't see that. They were too busy figuring out how to reprimand me for my behavior. At most I'd probably be grounded for a few days so I wasn't worried about my pending punishment. I was more worried about Hitomi."**


	18. The Fall: Matters of the Heart

**A/N: I was really hoping to have this out two Sundays ago but I was busy. In fact, I'm still busy. That's college life for you. After writing this chapter bit by bit, I finished it. This chapter sets the stage for the next chapter, which I have wanted to write for weeks. Any guesses about what might happen? Anyway thanks to sesshbaby, Kendra Harrison, and DarkestInk for their reviews. They are much appreciated. :) **

**THE FALL: Matters of the Heart**

* * *

"**That dinner had a couple consequences I didn't see coming. My parents grounded me for a week, not just a few days as I'd thought. They actually believed that I took advantage of an insecure and vulnerable girl by manipulating her emotions. Plus they were still peeved about me calling Minako 'hot.' The second thing was, Hitomi wasn't at school for the rest of the week."**

* * *

"That's all I need from you," Shigure finished telling Hatori over the phone. He was in his parents' bedroom, using the phone there. Normally he would use the phone downstairs but his phone privileges had been revoked for a week. Luckily, his parents were still downstairs in the living room. He sat on the carpeted floor, resting his back against the bed. No matter what he did, he could never truly get comfortable. Shigure sighed. "Can you do it, Hari?"

"I was going to drop her homework tomorrow but I suppose I can do it tonight," Hatori stated. "But I'm pretty sure Hitomi's okay. Do you know how crazy Minako would have to be to do something like that?"

Shigure ran his free hand through his black hair. "If you had seen her that night, Hari, you would understand."

"...I'll get Ayame to come with me. We'll let you know how Hitomi's doing as soon as possible."

"Thanks, Hari."

* * *

Shigure didn't know how long he waited. He was lying on his bed, legs dangling off the side, as his brown eyes moved to his clock. The clock on his bedroom wall claimed it had only been two hours but it felt like forever. After a while, he wondered if something had happened to Ayame and Hatori. Maybe they had stumbled on something they weren't supposed to and Minako didn't want the truth to get out. What would stop Minako from-!

_TAP! TAP! TAP!_

Shigure bolted up from his bed and turned toward the window. He hurried over when he saw it was Hatori. "I'm surprised that you were able to climb that tree," Shigure said after he opened the window. "It's not as good as the one outside of Hitomi's window."

"Yes but I don't get why you didn't try to use it to go check on her yourself," Hatori said from the tree branch. He didn't bother making his way across toward the window; he didn't trust the branch enough with his own weight. For someone like Shigure, who was shorter and a bit lighter, he might be able to pull it off.

"I didn't think about it actually," Shigure admitted. Up till now, he never had a reason to sneak out of his house. His parents usually didn't ground him for more than a couple of days. "Not like I could have. My parents have been checking to make sure I don't sneak out. So how is she?"

"She's fine," Hatori responded. "She just didn't feel well the last two days."

Shigure raised his eyebrows but didn't say what was on his mind. "Will she be in school Monday?"

"She should be. I can't see Minako-!" Hatori stopped mid-sentence as if he was about to say something he shouldn't.

"Minako what?" Shigure pushed.

"It's nothing," Hatori stated. "The most important thing is that Hitomi's fine."

Hatori was right. For now, that was the most important thing. Shigure would have hated for something to happen to her, especially if he had been the cause.

* * *

"**Monday couldn't have come fast enough. However, Hitomi wasn't in homeroom. Hatori later told me that Hitomi had switched into a different one. I thought that was what he wanted to tell me last night. Hitomi switching homerooms wasn't a problem. I could just see her during lunch."**

* * *

The moment lunch started, Shigure was out of his seat before Hatori and Ayame could say anything. Hitomi had been moved two classrooms down, which wasn't all that far. He wondered if Minako knew how close they still were to each other. He entered classroom 2-D and immediately spotted Hitomi in the back, opening her bento box. "Hitomi!"

She looked up, clearly surprised to see him. All of her fellow classmates looked as well but that didn't bother him. He started heading toward her desk.

"Sohma Shigure," said a bored voice behind him. Shigure turned around and looked at the teacher sitting behind his desk. The man put down his chopsticks and sighed loudly. Slowly, as if he was drawing out the anticipation, he wiped his hands and threw the napkin on the desk. "You really shouldn't be here. Ms. Sohma's orders, Ms. Sohma being Hitomi's mother."

Shigure looked at Hitomi and she sheepishly look down at her lunch.

"Shigure," the teacher said, speaking up again and not even hiding his irritation. "You can leave now."

Shigure went back into the hallway. Ayame and Hatori were already waiting outside. "The teacher kicked me out," he told them.

Ayame frowned. "Well that's sort of rude. You should march back in there and demand to see Tomi this very instant."

Shigure wanted to laugh. "If only it was that easy."

"Maybe we should ask Akemi for help," Hatori suggested. "Tell her to grab Hitomi for another 'Student Council meeting.'"

"Wow, Hari," Ayame said in awe, clearly impressed. "I didn't think you were so devious."

"I wouldn't exactly call it devious, Ayame," Hatori said. It wasn't often he would condone such behavior. Unlike his two best friends, tricking an authority figure was something he did mind doing.

"Would Akemi even help?" Shigure asked out loud.

"She might," Ayame said. "Isn't messing with Tomi what she does?"

* * *

They found the Student Council President in Room 3-C eating at her desk. When the Mabudachi Trio approached them, she gave them the strangest of the looks. Shigure quickly launched into his story. Akemi listened to Shigure's plan of luring Hitomi out of the classroom. At the end of his explanation, she returned to her lunch, picking up some ramen between her chopsticks. "No," she said, putting the noodles in her mouth.

"I thought you out of all people would enjoy pulling a prank on Hitomi," Shigure stated, hoping to rile the third year grader.

Akemi put down her chopsticks. "I don't hate Hitomi, you know."

"Yes you do," Ayame quickly disagreed. "You're always mean to Tomi."

"Since when?"

"Like the election," Ayame said pointedly.

"I wanted to win, you know."

"Come on, Akemi," Hatori said, interrupting. "You have to admit that even in meetings you're not that nice to Hitomi."

At this, Akemi sighed and picked up her chopsticks. "I know that I may not have been the _nicest_ to Hitomi but I like her now. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't have the best presidency, you know? I have the carnival _and _the school trips. Who has ever hosted a carnival in this school's history? Only me. So why would I play a trick like that on Hitomi? Clearly the teacher had a good reason for not letting you see her, Shigure. Maybe it was because she didn't want to, you know."

Shigure stared at Akemi before sitting across from her. He had thought that if he played to Akemi's 'evil' side, she would do this favor without a problem. Now he realized he had to crank the charm up to one hundred. "You believe in true love, right?"

Ayame and Hatori stared in surprise while Akemi simply blinked. "In what?"

"True love," Shigure repeated. "You believe in it, right?"

"I, uh, think so. What does this have to with Hitomi?"

"Well, you see," Shigure said, holding out for dramatic effect, "I'm in love with her."

The ramen slipped off Akemi's chopsticks. "W-what?"

"I'm in love with Sohma Hitomi," Shigure told the gaping Akemi. "And right now, her mother is trying her hardest to keep us apart."

"It makes so much sense!" Akemi exclaimed, still in shock. "I wondered why Hitomi was transferring to another school before midterms."

Shigure didn't say anything at first. His mind was trying to wrap around what Akemi had just said. But he realized he shouldn't zone out for too long. "Can you help me, Akemi?"

"Well," Akemi said, calming down for a bit. "Since this has to do with love, I suppose I can help you."

* * *

Shigure told Akemi to bring Hitomi to the roof top. Up here, he and Hitomi could remain out of the faculty's sight and talk in private. While he waited for Hitomi and Akemi to arrive, his two best friends kept him company. Shigure took the opportunity to bring up what had been bothering him.

"Is that what you wanted to say the other night?" Shigure asked Hatori. "That she was transferring schools?"

Even though he was under fire, Hatori was as calm as ever. "Hitomi wanted to tell you herself."

Shigure was dying to ask Hatori why Hitomi had told him _first_. Shouldn't he have been the first person to know? He tried to argue with himself that Akemi knew as well, that it wasn't a matter of favoritism on Hitomi's part. However he could easily argue that Akemi only knew because of Student Council business. Akemi would have to find a replacement Treasurer and she needed as much time as possible. But Hatori? _Hatori_?

"Maybe Gure wished he knew when you knew, Hari," Ayame thought out loud. All eyes went to him. The snake of the zodiac shrugged. "Gure _is _Hitomi's boyfriend."

Hatori's eyes moved back to Shigure but Shigure quickly averted his gaze. He could already imagine the look on his friend's face. When Hatori spoke, Shigure was sure he was going to pull the jealousy card but he was caught off guard.

"What you told Akemi, is it true?"

Shigure's face heated up. "I-!"

Suddenly the door to the roof banged open. "Here she is!" Akemi announced. She stepped aside, allowing Hitomi to come out onto the roof.

"We'll leave you two alone," Hatori said much to Ayame's and Akemi's dismay.

Ayame followed Hatori off the rooftop with some reluctance; Akemi had to be pulled away from the door. The two teens waited until the roof door closed before facing each other. Shigure wasn't sure of what to say or do. The vibes he was getting from his girlfriend were not good. To be honest, he was a bit frightened of what she wanted to say. There was a lot going on behind her brown eyes and the sinking feeling in his stomach wouldn't go away.

"Are you really transferring schools?" Shigure forced himself to ask.

Hitomi nodded. "My mom believes that an all-girls school might be better for me."

"... Do you want to go?"

"I don't really have a choice, Shigure." Instead of closing the distance, she took a few steps away, leaning on the roof door for support. "What happened the other day... It made me realize that maybe this isn't such a good relationship."

"Because of Minako," he stated.

"It's not helping either of us," Hitomi said. "We need a break."

"We?"

"_I _need a break," Hitomi corrected. "I need to figure me out. I can't do that with you and my mom coming from two different sides."

He stared at her for a moment before asking his question. "How long do we go on break then?"

"I don't know. I just need my space."

Shigure was the one who crossed the distance between them. He trapped her between his arms against the door, his brown eyes boring into hers. Hitomi couldn't keep eye contact for long; she had to look away. For whatever reason, his heart began to ache. He thought about holding her or kissing her, wondering if that would convince her to change her mind. But nothing seemed good enough.

"Hitomi?" She lifted her gaze warily and that was when he knew. They were done.

Shigure pulled away. "You should go. You don't want to be late for your next class."

"Neither do you," she told him.

"Yeah but I think it's best if we go separately."

Hitomi just nodded before opening the door. She paused for a moment. "Have a good afternoon, Shigure."

"You, too."

* * *

"**I didn't know what to think. Rejection wasn't something I was accustomed to and from my point of view, Hitomi had chosen her mother over me. I got to class late and Aya and Hari looked at me for an explanation. I couldn't tell them until school was over. By then, I had enough time to think about what had actually happened."**

* * *

Although the classroom was nearly empty, the Mabudachi Trio still hadn't left. If there wasn't a Student Council meeting in the next ten minutes, Shigure would have filled in his best friends on the way home. However, he couldn't wait for the next time the trio would be together again. He had to get what had happened off his chest.

"So that's it?" Ayame asked sadly. "No more Gure and Tomi?"

Shigure shook his head. It was one thing to hear it from Hitomi. He could always hope that Hitomi was just being Hitomi and that her decision wasn't final. Hearing from Ayame's mouth, on the other hand, did make it seem like the end. Shigure had never imagined that he and Hitomi breaking up could be a reality. He also never imagined that any sort of pain would come with it. It was frustrating. Every time he thought about her, there was suddenly an uncomfortable feeling in his chest.

"Wouldn't it be weird seeing your ex-girlfriend every day?" Ayame suddenly asked, oblivious to Shigure's cringe. He was not ready to hear 'ex-girlfriend' yet. Ayame folded his arms, frowning just a bit. "What do you say to each other? What about New Years' when we all have to be in the same room?"

"New Years isn't for another three months," Hatori said matter-of-factly.

"Yeah but still," Ayame said. "Would Tomi ever hang out with us again? I like Tomi but she did break Gure's heart-!"

"She didn't break my heart," Shigure interrupted.

"Really," Hatori said, clearly not convinced.

"Yeah." Shigure ignored the uncomfortable feeling building up in his chest again. "I'm actually happy that we're done. Now I can date whoever I want. Maybe I'll ask Akemi on a date the next time I see her."

"You should do that, Shigure."

The dog of the zodiac turned around and was surprised to see his ex standing behind him. Now he understood Ayame's earlier point. He really wasn't ready to see her again so soon.

"I'm glad you feel that way," Hitomi continued quietly. "I wouldn't want you to be unhappy."

"I was joking about Akemi," Shigure said, trying to shrug the matter off.

"Is that all you were joking about?"

Shigure didn't answer. He wanted to say he hadn't meant any of it but how pathetic would that sound? Should he really be the one apologizing? Funny enough it came down to what was more important: his pride or the girl looking at him at that very instant.

"...Are you in love with me?" She asked.

For a second Shigure wondered where she had heard that from. Then he remembered telling Akemi that. He thought about it for a second before smirking to himself. "Does it matter, Hitomi? Actually," he said, suddenly changing his mind. "I don't think I could ever love you."

Hitomi tore her eyes away, suddenly holding herself in a protective way. Shigure had to avert his gaze. He had been trying to even out the score but for whatever reason he felt worse than before.

Hatori quickly stood up. "You came here so we could go to the Student Council meeting together, right?" He started to grab his stuff in a quick yet calm manner. "We should go before we're late."

Hitomi turned around. "It's okay. I can head over there by myself." Before Hatori could speak, she was already gone.

Hatori stood still for a moment before his eyes went to Shigure. "I hope that was worth it," he told him before he went after Hitomi.

Ayame looked at Shigure, concern etched on his face. "Are you okay, Gure?"

Shigure nodded his head although he thought that the answer should have been obvious.


	19. The Fall: It's a Carnival

**A/N: Whew! It's finally finished. I didn't want this to take forever to post. However, I had a serious case of writer's block and college was too ridiculous for me to sit down and actually think of something. However, I managed to go through this chapter and rewrite, add, and delete tons of scenes. If only you could see how much was not used. I feel like this turned out to be a better chapter than what I would have submitted a month ago. Anyway, thanks to sesshbaby and THE KYO SOHMA and to those who added this story to their follow/favorites list during the long hiatus. I'll say this now. This story will be finished.**

**THE FALL: It's a Carnival**

For two long weeks Shigure had avoided Hitomi. He planned his day carefully to the point that there wouldn't be any unnecessary encounters. Mornings proved more difficult; the two had to stop by their lockers but in a strange way, Minako dropping Hitomi off at school each day helped. Minako made sure Hitomi didn't get close to him and for once, he was glad for Minako's interference. He didn't want to deal with the belly flops or the aching chest or sweaty palms. He didn't want to make eye contact because it would only remind him of everything that had happened. But fate, if that was what it was, had a funny way of doing things.

It was the day of the carnival. Everyone couldn't wait for classes to be over. Unfortunately, every class purposely dragged on. It was a miracle that lunch even arrived. The boys pushed their desks together before sitting down and opening their lunches. It had been two weeks but Shigure believed that he was getting used to lunches without Hitomi. Up until Ayame pouted.

"I've really missed Tomi."

Hatori and Shigure stopped eating.

"And it's her last day of school today."

Shigure stared. That was _today_?

"So... I invited her to lunch!"

"W-what?" Shigure stuttered. She was coming _here_? Why? He wasn't ready to see her now.

"I thought you should know," Ayame said. "That way you won't be surprised when she shows up. Oh. There she is! Tomi! You came!"

Shigure didn't turn around. He could feel her presence as she approached their makeshift table. "Hey," she said quietly as pulled desk over between Hatori's and Ayame's. At first, Shigure was grateful that she wasn't sitting next to him. Then he realized that her sitting directly across from him made it more difficult not to look at her. Which was why Shigure had to stare.

Her brown eyes were focused down as she took out her lunch awkwardly, reaching into the paper bag, hesitating and then deciding to take out something. Her movements were a bit stiff and she kept biting her bottom lip. Then she stopped. She said something but Shigure was paying more attention to the way her lips moved than what was leaving them.

"Is something wrong, Shigure?" Hatori asked.

Hitomi finally looked up from her lunch and met Shigure's gaze for the first time in two weeks. The dog of the zodiac could feel his heart racing. He knew he shouldn't being feeling this way but-!

"Shigure?" Hatori's voice cut in again.

"I was wondering if we were all going to the carnival," Shigure lied, tearing his eyes from Hitomi.

"We should go as group!" Ayame declared, looking at everyone. "The four of us," he quickly added.

"Oh," was all that Hitomi had to say.

Shigure risked looking at her again. If they were supposed to go as a group, he had to get used to the idea of talking to her. Or at least make the situation less awkward for his two best friends. It was different when he and Hitomi weren't together. Ayame and Hatori didn't have to feel uncomfortable choosing sides or bridge conversation gaps. And it was Hitomi's last day at their school. He should make it was less awkward for her.

_But why should I care? She broke up with me. She didn't care about my feelings. So why should I worry about how she feels?_ Shigure took some noodles between his chopsticks, trying to calm the anger brewing inside. It made things worse if Hitomi knew exactly what he thought. She didn't look like she had been suffering about the break up. "Are you going?" Shigure asked, trying to remove any emotional attachment to the situation. "Or did Minako say no?"

She took a deep breath. "I... I'm still working out the details."

"So that's a no, right?" Her eyes were on him, partially in surprise, partially in disbelief. He continued watching her. "You don't want to upset mommy dearest, would you?"

She lowered her eyes again. In a whisper, she said, "She's my mom. You're being jealous for no reason."

Shigure narrowed his eyes slightly. Now she was implying that he was jealous of Minako? Because she chose her over him that afternoon? "I'm not jealous," he said in detached manner. He paused for a second, contemplating his own low blow. "And I don't know what kind of mom calls their daughter a whore."

Hitomi swallowed hard. "Maybe if the daughter-!"

"Don't try to excuse that bitch's actions, Hitomi."

Hitomi stood up and slammed her hands on the desk. "She's not a bitch, okay!?" Shigure stared at her, along with everyone else in the classroom. "What would you know about me, Shigure!? You've been nothing but a complete selfish jerk!"

"A jerk?" Shigure repeated, nonchalantly. Underneath his eerily calm façade, his blood was boiling. "I've been nothing but nice to you, Hitomi. I've done everything I could for you."

"All you've done is hurt me!"

"Because I'm the one who calls you a whore, right?" He asked, his brown eyes meeting hers. "I'm the one who says you're ugly, that you're stupid, that you're worthless. And you try to make up excuses when none of that is true."

Hitomi's eyes started to water. "I told you this was a bad idea, Aya." She took off. Everyone else watched her go before looking at the Mabudachi Trio. Ayame got out of his seat as if he was about to give chase but then hesitated when he looked at Shigure. Again, that torn expression was on his face.

"Idiot," Hatori muttered before getting up and leaving the classroom.

Ayame sat back down. "Maybe you should apologize?"

Shigure sighed. "I don't want to talk about it."

* * *

"**There was nothing left to be said. I had finally told Hitomi how I felt about everything. Just not in the best way possible."**

* * *

The carnival was packed. The carnival lights stood out brightly against the night sky and lit the paths between concession stands, booths, and rides. Ayame was excited and even Hatori seemed a bit impressed with what the Student Council managed to pull off. However, Shigure's mind was on Hitomi. He rationalized that there was no way she could be here but at the same time, he wanted her to be. Maybe it would have been another awkward conversation. Still, he wouldn't have minded spending those few awkward moments with Hitomi. The trio passed a couple holding hands. Shigure couldn't help but noticed.

"Want to win me a prize, Gure?" Ayame asked.

Shigure looked at his two best friends, trying to ignore his feelings. "Seriously?"

"Yeah," Ayame grinned. Suddenly his voice became lower. "You do love me, right, Gure?"

"Aya, my feelings for you-!"

"Don't you two get tired of that joke?" Hatori interrupted.

"It's all in good fun, Hari," Shigure said.

Hatori shook his head. "What game?" He asked, looking at Ayame.

"How about that one?" Ayame suggested, pointing to a booth. It was a very familiar game. Bottles were stacked on top of each other in a pyramid formation, a total of six bottles. They were positioned fifteen feet from the front. For a reasonable price, they could buy three balls at a time.

Shigure bought three. Giving a smug look at his friends, he threw the ball as hard as he could. He hit the back of the wall. Shigure didn't let that faze him. He threw the second one. This time, he grazed the top bottle but the structure only wobbled. "I'm definitely going to get it this time," he said, taking his arm back.

"Hitomi?" Hatori said suddenly just as Shigure threw the ball.

Even though the bottles fell off the stand meaning he won, Shigure wasn't paying attention. His eyes were on the sheep of the zodiac. He didn't know why she was here or even how she was here. He was in disbelief but if Hatori could see, then she really had to be standing in front of him.

She held her hands behind her back. "Hi."

"Hitomi!" Ayame exclaimed, wrapping his arms tightly around the girl. Hitomi awkwardly hugged him back, smiling a bit. "I thought you weren't coming!"

"Your prize, kid?" The booth runner interrupted impatiently.

Shigure turned around, realizing that he had actually won something. "Aya, pick something."

Ayame let go of Hitomi and started to examine the prizes, most of which were stuffed animals. Shigure looked back at Hitomi. Something told him that she had snuck out. Ayame had no clue and judging by the look at Hatori's face, he didn't know either. A part of him wanted to ask Hitomi if that was really the case. However, after what happened at lunch today, he decided it wasn't the best idea. She wasn't even looking at him; she had all her attention on Hatori.

"Did you just get here?" Hatori asked.

Hitomi nodded. "I wanted to see the carnival. We put a lot of work into this."

"We did," Hatori agreed.

Ayame rejoined the group, grinning. "Look what I got!" Ayame said, holding up a green stuff snake. "Isn't it cool?"

Hitomi laughed. "It is, Aya. Have you guys been on any rides yet?" She asked, her eyes looking from Ayame to Hatori. Shigure didn't say anything, not sure what he could say. He knew why she was ignoring him. "I really wanted to go on the Ferris wheel."

Ayame pouted. "I'm not a big fan of heights."

"Come on," Hitomi said. "It'll be fun. You can ride with me."

Shigure took a deep breath. "I'll go with you, Hitomi."

Hitomi looked at him for the first time that evening. "I don't want you to."

Somehow that worse than when she rejected him. Shigure tried again. "I want to talk to you. It would probably be quieter on the ride and we'll be alone."

Before Hitomi could speak, Hatori said, "I can wait with Ayame for you two."

"Shigure could do that," Hitomi countered.

Shigure grabbed Hitomi's wrist. Her eyes snapped back to him instantly. "Please, Hitomi."

* * *

"**I hated begging. I would have rather waited her out. But I did for two weeks and she seemed further away from me than before. Maybe she saw that was desperate. I couldn't see any other reason she would subject herself to ride the Ferris wheel with me."**

* * *

They didn't talk on their way to the Ferris wheel and they didn't talk while they waited in line. Shigure used the time to think about what he would say to her once they got on. The ride consisted of two-seater cars, which meant they would be sitting close to each other. He was sure that would only add another factor into how uncomfortable this was. Hitomi's eyes were everywhere else but him. All he could do was stare at her. Was she really over him?

"Next."

Shigure and Hitomi stepped on the loading platform and got into one of the cars. There was barely any space between them. The ride operator closed the door and locked it before loading the car behind them. Hitomi focused ahead, quiet as ever. He wondered what she was thinking.

Soon the ride started. Shigure took another deep breath. "Hitomi," he started. She finally looked at him. "I said things to you that I shouldn't have. I, um, maybe I am a little jealous of your mom. Because you need her more than you need me." What he really wanted to say refused to leave his mouth. He was sure that meant more to her than anything else he could say and maybe that wouldn't be enough to earn her forgiveness.

"You haven't changed at all," she muttered. "You're still selfish and manipulative as ever."

"I know," he said.

"I haven't changed either. I'm still stupid. I still hate myself. Even though I hate everything you said today, you were still right."

"I was... I shouldn't have said any of that, Hitomi."

"I'm so sorry," she choked.

Shigure widened his eyes in alarm. "Don't cry. I should be the one..." _I should be the one saying I'm sorry. _He tried again. "I shouldn't have reacted the way I did. You broke up with me. You had your reasons. I should have respected that. We don't need to be dating to spend time together." He shook his head at himself. He was rambling while Hitomi was trying not to burst into tears. He was beginning to see that the Ferris wheel had been a bad idea.

"I'm sorry."

Hitomi didn't spare him a glance. "It's nice up here, isn't it?"

Shigure looked down. He had been so focused on Hitomi that he was barely aware of high up they were. He could see the entire carnival from their height. He could see all the festive lights, rides, and booths they had been on. He could see all the students enjoying themselves.

"I like Ferris wheels," Hitomi said quietly. "You always get to see things differently." She finally looked at him. "I went on one with my parents when they were still together. My mom was scared. She doesn't like heights. But my... Saito convinced her to ride it. It was fun. My mom wasn't always like this. If certain things didn't happen, she wouldn't have been so angry about us... I've missed you so much, Shigure."

Shigure could feel his heart pounding. "I've missed you, too."

"... You don't completely understand, do you? What I'm trying to say?"

The Ferris wheel stopped. Unfortunately for them, they were on the bottom. Hitomi sighed and open the car door. She stepped out and waited for Shigure. Shigure tried to understand what she was saying but he couldn't. He was about to ask her for an explanation but then she said, "We should go find Hatori and Aya. There are some other rides I want to try before I go home." He would have asked but once they got off the ride, Hatori and Ayame were already waiting for them.

* * *

The group laughed all the way back to the Sohma Estate. They didn't have a care in the world, talking about all the fun they had at the school carnival. Once they got on Sohma property, the laughter died down so they wouldn't disturb anyone. Hitomi spoke softly.

"I'm glad I snuck out tonight," she told them. "I really wanted to go to the carnival with you guys."

"What will your mom think?" Ayame asked worriedly.

She shrugged after some thought. "I don't care," she said as they continued walking. "I had one of the best nights of my life. If I died tonight, I wouldn't regret it."

"You shouldn't say that," Shigure said. It was almost automatic; he had barely formed the words in his head before he said them. However, Hitomi smiled and took the comment in stride.

"I can handle my mom, Shigure." She stopped walking. "I guess this is where I leave you guys."

The Mabudachi Trio hadn't noticed they were at that oh-so-familiar point in their trip, the point where Hitomi would go her way and the boys the other.

Ayame scooped Hitomi in a nearly bone-crushing hug. "I'm glad you came, Tomi!" He let go off her. He removed the stuffed snake from around his shoulders and put it around hers. "Keep it," he told her as she reached to remove it. "Green looks nice on you."

"I can't," she said with a sad smile. "My mom will probably get even more upset."

"Oh. Right."

She handed the snake back to Aya. "Thank you, though." She then turned toward Hatori and gave him a hug as well. "I'll miss being on the Student Council with you."

"I don't know who can replace you as Treasurer," Hatori said.

Hitomi let go. "I think you'll find someone great. I actually trust Akemi on this." She turned toward Shigure. Shigure reached out, ready to give her a hug but Hitomi stopped him. "Can you walk with me, a little longer?"

"Uh, sure," he said, looking at his two best friends.

"We'll see you later, Shigure," Hatori said.

"Have fun!" Ayame said cheerfully.

Shigure grinned, having some idea of Ayame's definition of fun. Although, he was certain that whatever Hitomi wanted from him didn't involve what Ayame was thinking. He told his friends goodbye before he walked off with Hitomi toward her house. They walked side by side in silence for a while. Then Shigure felt Hitomi slip her hand into his. He looked down and then at her.

"Hitomi?"

"You don't want me-!"

"No, it's fine," he said as her house loomed into view. They headed around back. "Tonight, on the Ferris wheel, what were you talking about?" They stopped under the tree outside her window.

Hitomi slipped her hand out of his and faced him. "The last couple of weeks, I realized that I love you, Shigure. That's what I wanted to say. I know you said that you can never love me but-!"

"I lied," he said, cutting her off. "How can I not? I mean, I'm not entirely sure how it's supposed to feel-!"

"I can wait," she said. "You don't have to force yourself to admit it. I just want to be with you. That's enough for me."

"Me, too."

Hitomi wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him then, bringing herself flushed against his body. For a moment, Shigure didn't know what to do. However, once he wrapped his arms around her, he kissed her back. She ran her fingers through his hair. That was new but for whatever reason, he liked it. He deepened the kiss and reversed their positions, pushing her against the tree. He had missed this – being with her, seeing her smile, kissing her. Even holding her hand again made him feel happy. He wasn't sure if they would still be together months from now or after year but at the moment, he just wanted to be with Hitomi.

* * *

"**We must have been under that tree for five minutes before I decided to go. Hitomi was all smiles and I remember thinking how beautiful she looked. She said that she would call me tomorrow. If she had to die tonight, that was the way I wanted to remember her. Not angry at me. Not scared for her life. Within the next two days, things got out of hand. The day after that, everything went downhill... "**

**A/N: How was it? Please review :) Till later.**


	20. The Fall: Someone to Lean on

**A/N: I updated semi-quickly this time. The story is slowly coming to the end and it makes me feel a little sad. Considering that I started this way back in 2009, at one point I didn't think there would be an end. Now the New Year's rolling in. Anyway, thanks to THE KYO SOHMA for the review and to those for the favorite/follow adds. **

**THE FALL: Someone to Lean on**

Hitomi had said she would have phoned him sometime yesterday. Now, two days since the carnival, Shigure had yet to hear word from her. The dog of the zodiac didn't want to worry. He had worried countless times before for no legitimate reason. However, all he could think about was something she had said Friday night. What if she had died and that was why she hadn't called? What if her mother was the reason behind it? He still remembered Kohana from the children's hospital and her situation. How different was it from Hitomi's?

After spending the entire Sunday morning dwelling on it, he went to Hatori's house. Hatori didn't asked questions as he stepped outside so his father wouldn't overhear. Shigure quickly explained the situation to his friend and his concerns.

"I want to check on her," Shigure said, finally bringing up the purpose of him coming over.

Hatori looked at Shigure's serious face and sighed. "You don't think you're worrying for no reason, Shigure?" Hatori was the most rational among the group. He always kept a level head in even the toughest of circumstances. It was part of the reason Shigure approached him first and not Ayame. Still, Shigure wanted Hatori to agree to come along in case things were as worse as he imagined.

"Possibly," Shigure admitted. "But I just want to put my mind at ease."

"And if her mom catches us?"

Shigure smirked. "Do you think I'm scared of Minako at this point?"

Hatori sighed again and opened the front door. "I'll tell my father I'm stepping out for a bit."

* * *

"**I thought it was Hatori trying to ease my worries. Looking back at it now, I wondered if he had his own. It didn't take much to convince Aya to come along. He was concerned about Hitomi. As usual, we went to the back of her house. We weren't prepared to see what we did that afternoon..."**

* * *

The Mabudachi Trio stood still and stared in deafening silence. The silence broke when Hatori took a sharp breath and broke rank. Hatori approached the fresh tree stump. Just two days ago, a tree had been standing there, the same one they had always used to climb up to Hitomi's window. The same one Shigure had kissed Hitomi under two nights ago.

Hatori touched the tree stump briefly before looking up at Hitomi's boarded window. Again, he took a sharp breath without saying a word.

"Should we try calling her name?" Ayame suggested, his bright golden eyes on the window. "In case she can hear us and answer back?"

"But Minako would hear us," Hatori pointed out. He turned around and faced his two friends. "...I don't know why Minako would-!"

"I could guess," Shigure muttered darkly, finally coming to his senses. The tree being cut down didn't bug him. It was the fact that Hitomi's window had been boarded up as well. Without a word, he started to walk to the front of the house.

"Shigure, wait!"

As he reached the front steps, his pace, as well as his heartbeat, quickened. Normally he would never knock on the front door without making sure Minako wasn't home. But he didn't care this time. The only way he could even have a chance of seeing Hitomi was to go through Minako and he was willing to do just that. Before Hatori or Ayame could reach him, he furiously pounded on the door.

"Gure!" Ayame reached him first and took hold of his arm. "Get a hold of yourself!"

Shigure stopped, surprised to hear that from Ayame.

"Ayame's right," Hatori said calmly. "If Minako _is_ mad at Hitomi, this doesn't help."

"If?" Why was Hatori trying to question it? Shigure didn't know why Minako was mad but he could guess. Maybe it had to do with Hitomi sneaking out Friday evening. Maybe it was about him and Hitomi making up. No matter the reason, it was always related to him and he couldn't let Hitomi suffer because of his idiocy.

Hatori clasped a hand on Shigure's shoulder. "We should go before we make things worse for Hitomi."

Shigure was about to reply when the front door opened. The boys froze as Minako stepped out. For once she didn't greet them with the maliciousness she reserved for these moments. She looked weary and irritated at best. Shigure couldn't help but notice the scratch marks on her right cheek.

Shigure narrowed his eyes. _Don't tell me..._

"Are you here to use the front door for once?" Minako asked, raising an eyebrow.

The boys didn't say anything at first. Then Ayame asked, rather awkwardly, "Are you okay, Minako?"

"I'm great," she said, her brown eyes moving to Shigure. "I don't think I've ever been better."

"Where's Hitomi?" Shigure asked.

"Upstairs. Resting."

"You can't wake her up?"

"What do you think?"

"It's important," Hatori explained before Shigure could retort.

"Did she leave something at the carnival?" Minako's voice was clipped. "Or maybe she dropped something after she was done with you, Shigure?"

Shigure stared. Either she assumed that Hitomi had been with him or she had seen them under the tree that night. It shouldn't be that hard to discern but he didn't want to believe the latter had actually happened. The latter had far direr consequences than the former.

"We just want to see Hitomi," Hatori said.

"You can't," Minako said. "She's grounded."

"I thought you said she was resting," Ayame said, clearly feeling stupid for voicing that aloud.

"Let me make this clear. Hitomi does not need to see you today or any other day. In fact, you boys don't need to talk to Hitomi ever..." Minako's voice trailed off as a strange sound was heard from inside the house. She turned around, frowning until she heard it again. The boys tried to peer around her. Without a warning, Minako slammed the door.

"That was..." Ayame didn't bother completing his thought. "Did you see that scratch? How do you think she got that?"

Shigure didn't say anything. He looked at Hatori, hoping that he wouldn't confirm his worst suspicions. However, the dragon of the zodiac sighed and looked away. "She might have gotten into a fight," Hatori mumbled.

"With Tomi?" Ayame asked.

"Possibly." Hatori shook his head and looked at Shigure. "That's what you were thinking, right?"

Shigure nodded slowly. His mind was working out possible scenarios of how the fight happened, each one ending with Minako as the victor. The only difference between them was how badly Hitomi had gotten hurt. None of them ended with Hitomi unscathed.

"Maybe I'll ask my father to go over," Hatori thought out loud. "I don't think Minako would refuse an adult."

"That would take too long," Shigure said. "We have to-!"

"There's nothing else we can do for Hitomi but this," Hatori interrupted.

Shigure narrowed his eyes at his friend before looking at the house. He didn't know why but a part of him was waiting for a scream. "There has to be something we're not thinking about."

"Be rational, Shigure," Hatori said. "Whatever's going on is clearly over our heads. Everything else we've done hasn't helped her."

Shigure looked at Ayame, hoping that the snake would support him. However, Ayame averted his gaze and focused on the grass. Considering how Hatori was the only person who could control Ayame's, his response wasn't that surprising.

Shigure sighed and ran a hand through his black hair. "Fine."

* * *

Night fell and rain came along with it. Shigure was in his room, trying to do the homework he neglected the whole weekend. However, his mind kept going to Hitomi. Hatori had called a few hours ago and said that his father probably wouldn't be able to do anything until tomorrow due to a busy schedule. Shigure couldn't ask his parents; they probably hadn't gotten over that dinner. Ayame had said his parents wouldn't take him seriously. This was exactly why Shigure had wanted to act this afternoon. He couldn't rely on outside help on something like this.

There was a knock at his door. Shigure looked away from his math assignment and at the door. "Yes?"

His mother opened the door. Her eyes swept the bedroom quickly before she came in and started inspecting the room more carefully. Once his mother got down on all fours and looked under his bed, Shigure had to ask. "Did you lose something?"

His mother got up and went over to the closet. "Minako called," she explained, looking inside the closet and finding nothing. "Hitomi ran away."

"W-what?" His mind, on the other hand, was asking why_, how_ – questions his mother couldn't provide answers to. Suddenly it dawned on him why his mother was in his room. "You think I'm hiding her?"

Finally his mother gave up the search and faced her son with her arms folded. "Wouldn't you?"

His mother had a point there. He would hide Hitomi. He would do almost anything to keep her away from crazy Minako. If only he had known that she was trying to escape, he would have helped her sooner.

"Sorry for disturbing you, Shigure," his mother apologized on her way out. "I'll let Minako know that she's not here." With that, she closed the door.

For a second, he thought that Hitomi's escape would put his mind at ease. It only made things worse for two reasons. One, he had no clue if she was still on the estate or if she had left the property. Two, there could be far worse people waiting out there than her mother. The rain would be the least of her worries. Why didn't she come here? Or go to Hatori's place? Or even to Ayame's?

Now he definitely couldn't do his homework. He abandoned the papers at his desk and flopped down on his bed. Without knowing when, sleep overtook him.

* * *

It was a couple hours later when he woke up. The rain was incessant as ever; it kept pelting against his window. His eyes slowly adjusted to his bedroom. Before he had fallen asleep, the ceiling light had been on. Now the only light source came from his desk lamp. In addition a blanket had been thrown over him. One of his parents must have check on him. Probably making sure Hitomi wasn't here while they were at it.

He looked at the clock on his desk and saw that it was after eleven o'clock. Slowly, he got up and headed for the bathroom to get ready for bed. He wasn't too tired but it was a school night. While he had napped like a baby just then, who knew what nightmares about Hitomi would plague him tonight.

As he went through his routine, his mind was on Hitomi. Minako was looking for her but he doubted she was worried as much as he was. Minako was probably wearing that good mother façade, the one that his parents had believed so easily. A new idea suddenly occurred to him. Maybe Hitomi hadn't run away and this was a cover-up for something bigger.

"Get a hold of yourself," he muttered as he headed back to his room. At this point, it was nothing but conspiracy after conspiracy flying through his mind, even if they all seemed plausible.

He had barely opened his door when he heard strange sounds coming from his window. He paused. Then he took a few steps into his room. He could see a figure outside, trying to lift his window. Before he could come in, the window gave. Shigure stood there, frozen to the spot, as a head popped through the window followed by an arm. Probably aware of his presence, person looked up at him, her brown eyes opening wide in surprise. "Sh-shigure?"

"Hitomi!" He rushed over and helped her inside. Once she was completely in his room, he clutched her wet form against him. This wasn't a dream; this was real. "You're okay," he said, not worrying about whether his pajamas would be soaked at the end of this embrace.

"I guess I am," she whispered. "I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to call you."

"Don't worry about that," he said, pulling back and examined her face. It was then that he noticed her cheek looked bit swollen and yellowed. He couldn't hide his worry from her. "What happened? Did Minako..." His voice trailed off. Why bother asking when the answer was in her eyes? Shigure looked over his shoulder and realized that he had forgotten to close the door. He let go of her.

"It's not as bad as it looks," Hitomi claimed as he closed and locked the door. "I'm fine."

Shigure sighed. Besides, the swollen cheek, she did look fine otherwise. Except for the wet clothes. "Let me get you something to change into," he offered, striding over to his drawers and searching through them. When he opted for pajamas, it hit him. Hitomi would be spending the night in his room. Where would she sleep? She couldn't sleep on the floor. Did that mean he would have to offer her his bed? Then where would he sleep? Trying not to let his face turn crimson, he handed her pajama bottoms and a t-shirt that was obviously a size bigger than she was.

She took the clothes with a sigh and headed over to the corner. Facing the wall, she told him, "Don't look, okay?"

Her voice had sounded so embarrassed that he did end up blushing. Luckily she didn't get to see. He turned around. "I won't," he told her as the rustling of clothes began.

* * *

"**I lasted three seconds before I had to look. Cute girl, probably only opportunity – how could I not? I don't know what I was expecting to see. She wasn't facing me. But I looked. The more skin that was revealed, the more bruises I saw..."**

* * *

The discolorations on her skin not only sickened him but angered him. A fight with Minako did that? No, that would be saying that Hitomi had stood a chance against whatever wrath Minako had thrown at her. When she moved to take off her bra, Shigure looked away. He waited a while, his mind reeling from what he saw. He wasn't sure how to voice his thoughts or his concerns, especially since she told him not to look and he had promised. He ran a hand through his hair. "I thought you said you were fine, Hitomi."

The rustling of clothes stopped. "What are you talking about?"

"Those bruises... They're from Minako, aren't they?"

"...I told you not to look and you can't even do that."

"And you can't even tell me the truth," he said. "You said you were fine, Hitomi."

"...What do you want me to say? That you were right all along? Is that it? That my mom's a bitch? That she would probably kill me if she could get away with it? Does that make you feel better, Shigure?"

"It doesn't." He could have predicted this exact outcome and still be unable to prevent it. He was sure that this was what Hatori meant when he said they couldn't help. Shigure had always wanted Hitomi to see what Minako truly was but not at this price. "I'm sorry, Hitomi."

She sighed. "Don't be. I've been an idiot all this time. I thought I could have everything I wanted. A father, a happier mom, friends. I see now that I can't."

"You don't need to have everything, Hitomi."

The bed creaked and Shigure turned around. Hitomi was already making herself comfortable underneath the covers. Instead of focusing on the fact that a girl was in his bed, Shigure was trying to think of where he would sleep as he put out the lights. Finally, he decided to sit at his desk and put his head down.

"Shigure... we can share. Your bed, I mean."

Shigure lifted up his head, her words finally registering in his head. Without missing a beat, he made his way to the empty side of his bed. He got underneath the covers, earning a giggle from Hitomi. Considering everything that had happened he couldn't understand why she was so amused. "What's so funny?"

"It didn't take long for you come in here," she said, sounding like she was smiling in the darkness. "I guess you being a gentleman was an act?"

At this, Shigure grinned. "I don't see why I _wouldn't_ come if you offered."

Hitomi snuggled against him and let out a sigh of relief. "Even if I only had you, I'd be okay."

Shigure didn't say anything at first. "What do you mean?"

"You're the only person I'm sure of right now."

"You have Aya and Hari-!"

"It's not the same." She let out a deep sigh. "I mean, they are my friends but it's just different, Shigure."

Different how? Because he was in a relationship with her? Or because she didn't share the most intimate details of her life with them? If the latter was true, the two weeks he had ignored her must have been rough. She probably had no one to truly confide in. After all, she believed he would judge her the least.

He wrapped an arm around her. "You do have me, Hitomi. You will always have me."

* * *

"**If I was truly the only person she was sure of, I would keep her safe. If I kept her safe, Hitomi would truly be okay in the end. In the end, she would not belong to Minako; she would be mine. Those were my final thoughts before I fell asleep."**


	21. The Fall: Lost and Broken, Pt 1

**A/N: Hey! This is a bit long but I hope you liked it. I had Final Distance by Utada Hikaru in the background as I wrote it. It's a good song. Anyway, thanks to Anonymous (I think this is savethesalmon), THE KYO SOHMA, sesshbaby, and Bookworm and Goldi-Sox for their reviews. Also thanks to those who favorited this story. Enjoy!**

**THE FALL: Lost and Broken, Pt 1**

_BBBRRRRRIIIIIINNNGGG!_

Shigure's brown eyes snapped open. It was Monday morning. To his chagrin, school would start in the next hour and a half. He was about to get out of bed when he realized someone was onto holding him. Hitomi. She was still sleeping peacefully, undisturbed by his alarm clock. He reached over toward the nightstand and hit the off button. He was certain that his parents had left for work. Usually by this time they were gone and he didn't hear anyone moving about the house.

He unraveled Hitomi's arm from himself and got out of bed. There was one question on his mind – school or Hitomi? He could leave her here; his parents wouldn't be back until a few hours after school ended. But if Hitomi wanted company, he had no problem staying. It wasn't like he was _that_ excited to go to school.

The doorbell rang. _Who could that be? _Shigure thought as he headed downstairs. Seconds before he opened the front door, the answer hit him: Ayame and Hatori.

His two best friends were already dressed in their school uniforms even though they wouldn't leave for another forty-five minutes. Shigure yawned as he studied his friends' worried faces. "You two are here early," he commented.

"We thought that we should look for Hitomi before school starts," Hatori said.

"Hurry up and get ready, Gure," Ayame urged. "Who knows where our Tomi could be? She must be so lonely and-!"

"She's in my room," Shigure interrupted a bit drowsily. Even when Ayame's eyes widened, Shigure still didn't register how bad that sounded.

"I'm assuming your parents don't know that she's here," Hatori stated, slightly raising an eyebrow. Shigure nodded. "Is she okay?"

"She's fine," Shigure replied. He didn't feel the need to clue Hatori and Ayame in about the bruises. Hitomi probably didn't want anyone to know about that. She hadn't even wanted him to know.

"Shigure?"

The Mabudachi Trio turned around and saw Hitomi. Her black hair was messy, so much so that there was no way Hitomi knew or else she would have tried to fix it. Except for the swollen cheek, she appeared to be fine. Shigure hoped that Ayame and Hatori wouldn't start asking questions. He knew that once they start, Hitomi would only become upset.

Hitomi's eyes widened when she saw who else was here. "Oh! Why are you guys here?" She asked, the tiredness disappearing from her face.

"We were going to look for you, Tomi," Ayame said. "But Gure said you were here. You seem okay." For reference, he pointed to his own cheek. "What happened?"

"That..." Hitomi sighed before shaking her head. "It's nothing serious. But I'm okay. Really."

Hatori didn't buy it but he didn't say anything either. Instead, he looked toward Shigure and asked, "Are you coming to school today?"

Shigure grinned sheepishly. "That's a good question." He was still working out the answer himself.

"I would like you to stay," Hitomi spoke up. All eyes went to her. For a moment, she hesitated to give an explanation. "I would feel awkward being in your house alone."

Ayame didn't miss a beat. "Why don't we all skip school today?!" He exclaimed.

"Don't be ridiculous, Ayame," Hatori stated. "We can't skip school."

Ayame grinned. "Can't or _won't_?"

"All three of you don't have to skip," Hitomi said. "It would look suspicious if you all do. I'll be fine with just Shigure."

Hatori looked at Shigure and Shigure shrugged. The dragon of the zodiac looked at Hitomi again. "Can I talk to you, Hitomi? Alone in the kitchen?"

A frown briefly passed over her face before she nodded. "Sure."

The two left the entry way and headed for the kitchen. Ayame and Shigure stood there in silence. It was Ayame who ended up breaking it. "So did you and Tomi, you know?"

"The most we did was share a bed," Shigure said. He would have blushed but his mind was focused on something else. He was trying to figure out what reason Hatori had for pulling Hitomi aside. He didn't know why but it worried him. It wasn't about what Hatori might say or do; it was about how Hitomi might react.

"Tomi... she's really okay, right? She's not lying, is she?"

Shigure turned toward Ayame and sighed. "She said she was, didn't she?"

"She did... I guess if you keep her company today without us, that would be fine. Maybe we can take turns every day," he added with a shrug. "It can be my day to skip school tomorrow."

Shigure smiled wryly. "That's assuming we can keep Hitomi hidden that long."

"I'm sure we can," Ayame said. "Tomi can stay at my place tonight. It should be fun! My parents don't usual pay me much attention with Yuki and all so it should be no problem sneaking food to my room. Sneaking her in, that would be another story."

Before Shigure could comment, Hitomi and Hatori rejoined them in the entryway. "We're going without Shigure," Hatori told Ayame.

Ayame frowned, probably at the way Hatori had said that. Hatori's voice hadn't been its usual neutral tone. However, Ayame didn't question it. He looked at Hitomi and gave her a big hug. "We're having a sleepover tonight, Tomi, just the two of us!"

Hitomi forced a small smile as Ayame pulled away. "If you say so, Aya."

Hatori and Ayame said goodbye as they left the house. Ayame stepped out first. Before Hatori followed, he grabbed Shigure's arm for a second. His voice dropped to a whisper. "Whatever you do today, don't do something stupid."

Shigure briefly glanced at Hitomi. Her brown eyes were on them. "I'll remember that," he said softly. Hatori nodded and walked out. Shigure closed the front door after him. He sighed and faced Hitomi. "So what are we doing today?" He asked her.

"Let's just go out," she replied.

"Anywhere you'd like?"

Hitomi shook her head. "It really doesn't matter to me, Shigure."

* * *

"**I wanted to know what she and Hatori talked about. But I figured that she had enough on her plate without me prying into her business. Plus I thought I could always ask Hatori later. I always wondered if I had asked then, if things would have played out differently..."**

* * *

For October weather, it was surprisingly chilly outside. Shigure lent Hitomi a light jacket and some clothes. Even though it was oversized, Hitomi managed to wear them well enough that people on the streets didn't stare. The two spent the whole day going around town, stopping by bookstores, shops, a diner for lunch, and even a bakery on the way home. Shigure and Hitomi took the long way back as they ate their fruit-filled pastries. They were about to pass the local shrine when Hitomi stopped walking.

"Can we stop here?" Hitomi asked.

Shigure nodded.

The two teens climbed the long staircase up. The sun was setting; the higher they climbed, the more beautiful the sunset looked over the town. Hitomi approached the offertory box, put her hands together, and closed her eyes. Shigure watched as he finished his pastry. A minute went by before Hitomi turned around.

"What did you pray for?" He asked.

"I can't say," she said. "If I do, it might not come true."

"You believe in that?"

Hitomi shrugged. "It doesn't hurt... My parents used to come here. I can only guess what they wished for." She suddenly sighed. "You think it's okay to wish for yourself?"

Shigure shrugged. "I don't know. I thought the point was that you can wish for anything, even for your crush to like you."

At this, Hitomi smiled. "I suppose there are more selfish wishes out there."

"Seriously, what did you wish for?"

Hitomi shook her head. "If you must know, I wished for the curse to end."

"How is that selfish?"

"I was only thinking about myself. For most of my life, my mother said that I was the black sheep for a reason. Nobody wants a black sheep. They're worthless and useless. I don't want to be that anymore. I don't even want to be a Sohma. I just want to be-!"

* * *

" '–**down with all this.' Back then, I couldn't see what she had really meant. I had taken her words at face value. What Hitomi wanted most, probably even needed, was to be loved by someone, anyone. If I had known, I would have said something else."**

* * *

"We all do," Shigure said. "For our own selfish reasons. You're not the only one, Hitomi."

"... You're right. There's not a single Sohma that calls this a gift."

Shigure walked past Hitomi and toward the offertory box. He thought of a quick prayer. He didn't believe in all this but, like Hitomi said, it couldn't hurt to wish for something. After he was finished, he walked back to Hitomi.

"What did you wish for?" She asked.

Shigure smirked. "I can't say."

Hitomi frowned. "Why not?"

Shigure smiled and looked away. "It won't come true if I do."

"But I told you my wish."

"Well, one of ours should work or else this trip would be a waste." When Hitomi gave him a dirty look, Shigure laughed. "I don't think your wish matters anyway. You're not that person."

She stared at him, momentarily speechless. Then she smiled and shook her head. "What would you know?" Even though those were her words, he knew that she felt differently. The pleased look on her face was enough for him to see that. He cupped her chin and tilted her head up to kiss her. However, at the last second, she turned away. "Not here. This is sacred ground."

Shigure blinked. "How about at the bottom of the stairs?"

Hitomi giggled. "How about at your house?"

Ayame's earlier words came to mind. "S-Seriously?" He asked, feeling the heat rise to his cheeks.

Hitomi blushed. "Not like that! People might see us! People we know! And your parents won't be home for a while, right?"

"I knew what you meant," Shigure claimed.

"I don't want to know what you thought I meant."

"It wasn't _that _bad!"

"We should go before it gets dark," Hitomi said. She had changed the subject but Shigure wasn't going to protest. Instead he followed her down the stairs.

Once they reached the sidewalk, Shigure grabbed Hitomi's hand and pulled her toward him. Shigure felt his heart race when he saw the confused look in her wide brown eyes. After a few seconds, the look finally changed to one of understanding. Hitomi closed her eyes and gently pressed her soft lips to his. There was innocence behind the kiss, reminiscent of their first real kiss in the woods. Back then the air had been warm on their faces but now it felt raw.

Hitomi slowly pulled away. Shigure was still holding her hand securely in his. "I..." She tried again. "I think we should go now."

"We should." The way Shigure felt in that moment, it wasn't new. He had felt it before. Only now, it had been amplified severely. Shigure couldn't think of the right word but he was beginning to wonder if it was one he didn't use often.

* * *

By the time they reached Shigure's house, the sun had already set. Shigure opened the front door and let Hitomi inside first. They were heading for the stairs when Shigure heard his mother. The two stopped in their tracks.

"Shigure? That's you, isn't it?"

"Yes," he replied. _Why is she home? _He looked at Hitomi and gave her a signal to go upstairs without him. He couldn't let his mother see her. Hitomi was about to sneak upstairs but then—

"Hitomi? You're there, right?"

Hitomi stopped in her tracks. Seconds later, Shigure's mother emerged from the nearby living room. Her eyes went from Hitomi, still halfway up the staircase, and then to her son. "I thought you said Hitomi wasn't here."

"She just got here," Shigure lied.

"Then why is she wearing your clothes?"

Hitomi came down a step. "It's not his fault," she said. This only caused Shigure's mother to frown.

"Your mother is worried about, Hitomi. How can you put her through this?"

Hitomi's expression darkened significantly. "She doesn't care about me."

Shigure ran a hand through his hair. He looked at his girlfriend. "Mom, she-!"

"Your school called us at work, Shigure," his mom interrupted, looking back at her son. "When they said you didn't come in, I thought it might have something to do with Hitomi. I was right."

"...Mom, you didn't call Minako, did you?"

As if to answer his question herself, Minako emerged and stood by his mother. Shigure didn't flinch when she gave him the nastiest of looks. She was clearly placing the majority of the blame on him but her look barely changed when she stared at her daughter. "Let's go home."

"No."

Shigure's eyes widened. Never before had he head Hitomi talk that way to her mother.

"Hitomi," Minako said very carefully. "Don't make this difficult."

Hitomi narrowed her eyes and took off upstairs. The three remaining Sohmas stood there. It wasn't until Shigure made a move that the two mothers began to move as well. However, Shigure had a head start and he knew where Hitomi would go to. He reached her first. No sooner than he entered his room, the door slammed shut behind him. Shigure turned around, seeing just as Hitomi locked it. The doorknob rattled.

"Open this door!" Shigure's mother yelled but her shouts were ignored.

Hitomi walked over to the window and pushed it wide open. The screen was still up from the previous night. She paused and clutched at the window sill. "We can run away from all this. There's nothing stopping us."

Shigure took a moment to realize the pronoun she had used. "What do you mean?"

"I don't want to stay anymore but I... I want you to come with me."

Shigure was dumbstruck. The rattling of the doorknob snapped him out of it. "But what about everyone else here? Like Aya and Hari-!"

"I told you last night, didn't I? As long as I have you, I'll be okay. I don't want to do this without you."

"You're not," he said quietly. Before he could say more, he remembered Hatori's words. "_Whatever you do today, don't do something stupid." _He looked back at the door. The doorknob had stopped rattling. For now, at least. Shigure exhaled slowly, thinking the situation over. "You're not doing anything without me, Hitomi. We just can't do _this_."

Hitomi swallowed. "Why not?" She asked, keeping her voice steady.

"Because this would be a mistake."

"The only mistake I've ever made was putting up with my mother and this curse. This would be the smartest thing I can ever do."

"This would be the dumbest thing you can ever do," Shigure said. He hadn't meant for it to come out like that; Hatori's words had been on his mind the entire time. However, the instant he saw her recoil, he knew he had said something wrong.

"Do you love me?" Hitomi suddenly asked. "Because if you do, you'd come with me right now."

Shigure had always wanted Hitomi to break free of her mother but not like this. This course of action was rash, which was not a word he would have ever use to describe Hitomi. "Running away won't make things better, Hitomi. We can talk things out with my parents, maybe they can talk Minako out of-!"

"I came back for you, Shigure," Hitomi said, cutting him off. "I could have run away yesterday and not look back. I could have done that but instead I came back for you." Tears started streaming down her face. Hitomi swallowed the hiccups down and clenched her fists. "Don't tell me that was a mistake, too! Don't tell me everything you said was a lie!"

"I... This isn't the only option, Hitomi."

* * *

"**I knew what I wanted to say but I was young and foolish. I wasn't ready to cut my ties with the Sohmas. I thought that if I didn't say it, maybe Hitomi would stay. I was willing to tell my parents the truth and convince them to not send her back with Minako. I never expected her to say-!"**

* * *

"I hate you so much."

The bedroom door opened. Shigure turned around and saw his father in the doorway holding a key. He had unlocked it. Before Shigure could speak a word or even his father, Minako charged into his bedroom. She stormed past Shigure and took hold of Hitomi's arm. She yanked the girl away from the window with strength that Shigure didn't know she had.

"You stupid child! Are you _trying_ to make a fool of me?"

Shigure stood there, angry and ashamed of himself. _"Be rational, Shigure. Whatever's going on is clearly over our heads."_

"Minako!" Shigure heard his mom exclaimed. "Get a hold of yourself!" His mother entered the room but she stopped in her tracks as Minako hit the floor.

Hitomi stood there, breathing hard. It took Shigure a moment to realize that she had pushed Minako down. Minako sat on the floor, looking up at her daughter in shock. Hitomi didn't flinch as she turned away and headed back to the window. Shigure realized that with or without him, she was going to run away. He would never see her again.

"Hitomi, don't!"

At the sound of his voice, she stopped for a second but that all it was. She proceeded to stick a leg out the window, reaching for the nearby branch to pull herself onto it.

Minako stood up and ran toward the window.

* * *

"**I can't forget the sheer terror in her eyes when Minako reached her. I thought Minako would have dragged her back inside the room. Minako did the opposite. In those final seconds, Hitomi looked at me. There were hatred and hurt in her eyes but there were also anger and fear. Fear of dying, anger at Minako, hurt because of me. The hatred, I was sure that I was at the receiving end."**

* * *

"Hitomi!"

* * *

"**I couldn't reach her in time."**


	22. The Fall: Lost and Broken, Pt 2

**A/N: I'm sorry that this update is a week overdue! Way back when, I was under the impression that the class I was taking over Winter Break would not be all-time consuming. Yeah. Bad judgment call on my part, especially since the class was for my major. Since the end of last week, things have calmed down significantly and thus I've had time to work on this story. If you didn't notice, the story's status has been switched to 'Complete,' meaning that we have reached the end. The chapter after this is the epilogue. Thanks to all those who have stuck with me till the end and thanks to those who reviewed last time – , Crystal-Wolf-Guardian-967, fantasyanimegirl283, DarkestInk, sesshbaby, Kendra Harrison, THE KYO SOHMA, and savethesalmon. Enjoy. **

**THE FALL: Lost and Broken, Pt 2**

Shigure sat impatiently at his school desk. Every once in a while, he found himself looking around for Hitomi. He caught the eyes of his two best friends sitting to the right of him. Ayame gave him a thumbs-up sign while Hatori gave him a curious look.

The boys were a bit taller but they looked almost the same. The one who changed the most was Ayame and that was because he had grown his hair out. Despite the outside changes, they were the same people and therefore the Mabudachi Trio. Even though Ayame had reminded them that they would be hanging out this afternoon, it had been a given. When classes finally ended, the Mabudachi Trio didn't waste time gathering their belongings and heading for the front gates. Shigure looked at the cherry blossoms on the trees. It was really Spring.

"Hi!" The sound of her voice sounded like music to his ears.

Shigure spotted Hitomi standing by the gates. She was waiting for them. He approached her in a daze, his two best friends not far behind. "What are you doing here?" He noticed that she wasn't wearing their normal black school uniform but a green one. Ayame had been right the night of the carnival; green did look good on her.

"What kind of question is that?" Hitomi asked shaking her head. "My school let out a bit early so I thought I'd come meet you guys here."

Shigure glanced Hitomi over, taking in her longer black hair and her bright smile. It had been a long time since he had seen that smile. It had disappeared when Minako became... He blocked that thought out. "I thought you didn't like long hair," He commented.

Hitomi shrugged. "I figured I don't look _that_ much like Minako. I think I actually look very pretty."

Ayame cut in between the two. "Stop keeping Tomi to yourself, Gure. You're being completely selfish."

Hitomi laughed as Ayame swept her into a hug. "That's nothing new, is it?" She peered over Ayame's shoulder at Hatori. "Hi Hatori! How were classes?"

Hatori shrugged. "They were fine. Nothing really happened since it was the first day."

"Same," Hitomi said, finally freeing herself from Ayame's grasp. She maneuvered around Ayame and stood in front of Shigure. "What are you thinking about? You've been looking at me the whole time."

Shigure blinked. He hadn't realized that he had been staring. "H-How much I love you," he forced out.

Hitomi tilted her head to the side, as if out of confusion. Shigure thought that maybe she hadn't heard him or even misheard what he said. He opened his mouth to say it again, this time louder and more assertive, when she spoke.

"I heard you," she said, her smile disappearing. "I just never would have guessed it, you know? You didn't say it when I wanted to run away with you. You even allowed Minako to pull the plug."

"I tried to stop her," Shigure said.

The world around them started to crumble. The high school disappeared along with all the students, Hatori, and Ayame. All that was left was pitch darkness and Hitomi, illuminated in some strange white light. Shigure noticed all this but his focus remained on her tear-brimmed eyes.

"I really tried Hitomi."

Her brown eyes narrowed. "If you love me so much then why am I dead?"

_BBBRRRRRIIIIIINNNGGG!_

Shigure bolted up in bed. His heart pounded in his chest, his breath ragged and short. He looked around the room, confused about why this room wasn't his bedroom. Then he remembered. This was the guest bedroom. He was not sleeping in his room because that was where Hitomi had fallen out the window. Now Hitomi was dead.

He sat still for a moment, trying to dissect what he had dream about. He had another dream about Hitomi, the eleventh one in the past two weeks. It always ended the same way. No matter what they had been doing in the dream, even if it had been fun, she always managed to get across how angry she was at him, how she felt betrayed.

Realizing his alarm was still blaring, he reached over and turned it off. Then he lay back down. He wasn't going back to sleep. Soon he would have to get ready for Hitomi's memorial service.

* * *

"_Even if she had woken up, she would have been paralyzed, right?"_

"_Where's her mother? You'd think that she would be here by now."_

"_I heard her mother shoved her out the window."_

"_No way...Seriously?"_

"_Well, I heard that the girl was a little trouble maker herself. According to Minako, she ran around with boys. She was one of __**those**__ girls."_

"_Are you sure? I thought she didn't talk to any of the other kids here. She sat by herself during New Years..."_

"_Well, I heard..."_

"Are you okay?"

Shigure stopped listening to the surrounding Sohmas and looked up at Ayame, seeing that his friend's eyebrows were furrowed in concern. Shigure hadn't seen Ayame since the day Hitomi had been taken off life support. The same thing went for Hatori. It wasn't their fault; Shigure had just wanted to be alone. He had skipped school for the past week and had kept to the guest bedroom at home. The only people who had seen him were his parents and that was when he needed the necessities.

"I'm okay," Shigure replied, if only to stop Ayame from worrying. One look at his friend though and Shigure knew Ayame didn't believe his answer.

Ayame sat down next to Shigure. He looked toward the group of gossipers Shigure had been eavesdropping on. The snake of the zodiac frowned. "They don't know anything about Tomi but they insist on talking about her. It's upsetting."

Shigure leaned his head against the wall and closed his eyes. Hitomi's face came to mind and immediately his eyes opened. "...I wish I can tell them to shut up."

Suddenly Ayame stood up and approached the women. Shigure watched in surprise as Ayame did exactly that. The women gave him nasty looks but they moved to another part of the room, probably to continue their conversation elsewhere. Ayame sat back down.

"Thanks, Aya."

"There's no need to thank me, Gure. I would gladly do it again if I have to. They should respect Tomi's memory. Oh. There's Hari."

Hatori approached his two best friends. He looked at Ayame and then at Shigure. He opened his mouth to say something but then hesitated. As if it was a new thought altogether, he said bluntly, "My father's offer is still available."

Ayame frowned. "What offer?"

Shigure sighed. A good distance away, amidst the sea of black, he spotted his parents talking to Hatori's father. "My parents asked him to wipe my memory of Hitomi."

According to his parents, he wasn't the same. They thought that if his memories of Hitomi – her falling out the window, the time they spent together, even the first time they met – were gone, he would get better. That would be true but Shigure couldn't do that. Someone had to remember exactly what kind of person had done this to Hitomi. Someone had to remember Hitomi's last day, her last words, her last moments. Even if those memories would be painful.

"If you're worried of losing certain memories-!"

"I'm not doing it, Hari." Shigure's hands clenched the black material covering his knees. "Hitomi hates me enough as it is."

"I doubt that's true, Shigure," Hatori said.

"She didn't look at you when she fell, did she?"

"Shigure?"

Shigure noticed that Kureno and Akito had joined them. "What?" He asked Kureno.

"I wanted to make sure you were okay," Kureno said quietly. "I heard that it happened at your house."

"I'm okay." Ayame gave him a concerned look again and Shigure almost closed his eyes in aggravation. When he remembered the risk of seeing Hitomi again, he kept them open. He didn't want to see her face anytime soon. It was why he had sat in the back of the room, far from the memorial itself. He knew that upfront was an enlarged photo of Sohma Hitomi. He briefly wondered what picture the Sohma family had chosen before he threw that thought out of his head.

"There will be a new sheep soon," Akito said in a monotone voice.

"You don't know that," Shigure said without a second thought.

"That what happens when a zodiac member dies, isn't it? She'll be replaced by another."

"...Are you happy about that, Akito?"

"...I hope the next sheep is a boy."

Shigure would have responded to that if Minako hadn't entered the room at that moment. Shigure directed all his attention to her.

The woman was wearing black but Shigure doubted that she was in mourning and chalked it up to coincidence. Minako's eyes focused on the front of the room as she made her up to the memorial set. Everyone made room for her to pass. It was then that Shigure saw what picture they had used.

It was Hitomi's school photo from the beginning of April. Hitomi's black hair was longer and her bangs fell across her forehead. The smile on her face was forced; it didn't even reach halfway to her brown eyes. Even so, her back was straight and her head was tilted up. No one could ever tell from that picture what she had put up with most of her life. No one but the few people who knew her best and the woman now staring at the photo with an indifference bordering disgust.

Shigure stood up from his seat and Ayame grabbed hold of his arm. "Not here, Gure," Ayame said.

Shigure sat back down, watching as several relatives approached Minako and offered their condolences, even the gossipers from earlier. Minako merely nodded to each sentiment shown, her facial expression barely altering. She even had the gall to approach his parents'. Minako, more than anyone, didn't care that Hitomi was gone. So why would she waste her time here? To just show her face? To insult Hitomi's memory? Shigure wasn't the only one watching her – Ayame and Hatori were too, along with several others in the room. If Minako noticed, she acted like she didn't.

After five minutes of going around, Minako turned on her heels to head out. For a brief moment, her brown eyes caught Shigure's. But that didn't make her slow down as she walked out the door. Shigure stood up but Ayame grabbed hold of his arm a second time.

Shigure's eyes looked toward the door. "Aya, please let go."

"But-!"

"Do what he asks, Ayame," Hatori said.

"What will Gure do when he confronts her?" Ayame asked. "It won't bring Tomi back."

"Maybe it's best if we leave Minako alone," Kureno quietly agreed.

"If Shigure wants to go, let him go," Hatori said.

Shigure looked at Hatori. He had expected Hatori and Ayame to play each other's roles. However, it seemed that Hatori knew why Shigure needed to confront Minako. It was true that it wouldn't bring Hitomi back but maybe it would change _something_. Once Ayame reluctantly let go, Shigure hurried outside. Minako's strides were brisk and long but she hadn't gotten too far.

"Minako!"

The woman stopped and turned around almost instantly. "What? You want to offer your condolences, too?"

"My condolences?" Shigure repeated, slowing down to a stop. "To Hitomi's murderer?"

Minako looked like she was about to laugh but she swallowed it back at the last second. "The doctor said she was a vegetable. Why waste money keeping her like that?"

Shigure narrowed his eyes. "She wouldn't have been in that state if you hadn't-!"

"Shoved her?" Minako finished. "It never crossed my mind that she would have fallen out the window."

Shigure's voice was barely a whisper. "How can you live with yourself? How can you just stand there and act like everything's okay?"

"Because it is."

Shigure blinked. At first he couldn't understand what she meant but slowly the words began to sink and take root. This woman, this monster was despicable in every way possible. "Are you fucking kidding me? Are you _fucking _kidding me? She's dead because of you. You killed her. You're the reason she's not here right anymore!"

"Get over it," Minako said. "Would you have really stayed with a paralyzed girl? I doubt it. You would have abandoned her."

"That's not true!"

"Oh? You would have stayed with her out of guilt? How considerate of you, Shigure."

Shigure clenched his fists. "You-!"

* * *

"**... Are you okay, Tohru?"**


	23. Epilogue

**BROKEN WINGS**

**Epilogue**

"Are you okay, Tohru?" Shigure asked again. Before, somewhere around the part where he recounted Hitomi's last moments, she had been tearing up. Now the girl was crying.

Tohru shook her head and wiped the tears from her eyes with her sleeve. "I'm so sorry. Please finish, Shigure."

Shigure stared at Tohru before studying Yuki and Kyo. The boys' eyes were watery but nothing fell from them. Shigure assumed it was because they refused to embarrass themselves in front of the other. Sighing, Shigure looked at the clock and saw that it was three o'clock in the morning. "Maybe you should go to bed. All of you."

"W-what?" Kyo said, clearly ready to protest. "You didn't even tell us what you said back to her!"

"Is she in jail at least?" Yuki asked. "Someone like her can't be-!"

"You all have to wake up early, don't you?" Shigure interrupted, removing his glasses. Although there was not a single smudge on them, he started to wipe the lenses anyway.

"Shigure!" Kyo yelled, standing up. "You can't keep us all night and then not finish the story!"

Shigure didn't understand why Kyo wanted to hear the rest of it. The ending was obvious, wasn't it? Maybe he was a better storyteller than he gave himself credit for and his words didn't always have to be organized on paper.

"It's my fault you won't finish it, isn't it?" Tohru asked, wiping her tears away.

Shigure offered a sympathetic smile. "Don't worry," he said. "I made the whole thing up."

Tohru blinked. "Huh?"

"I made up the story," Shigure reiterated with a small smile. "Hitomi never existed. Minako never existed. Not even Akemi."

"You kept us up for the purpose of what then?" Yuki asked, trying to quell an anger that was obviously brewing inside.

Shigure laughed nervously. "That _is _a good question. Let's see... Oh. Right. I wanted to teach you why you should be careful of what you say when you're angry. It could cause the person left behind great grief as well-!"

"But none of that ever happened!" Kyo interrupted. "You had me crying-!"

"You were crying?" Shigure asked innocently although his smirk betrayed him a bit.

"I was not!" He yelled back. He pointed to the girl sitting next to him. "I meant Tohru!"

"Of course you did," Shigure said, looking at Tohru. "Now that you know that it's made up, there is no reason to feel sad. Such a horrible person as Minako never existed which meant that there was no Sheep prior to Hiro."

"Even so," Tohru said, sniffling a bit, "I feel bad for Hitomi and for you."

"It never happened," Yuki repeated, giving Shigure a dirty look.

"Still," Tohru continued. "I feel bad that Hitomi died the way she did. And I feel bad that her last words to you were that painful. I guess that there is no happy ending."

"Unless I made Minako die," Shigure said thoughtfully. When he saw the shock on Tohru's face, Shigure immediately took it back. "Kidding, kidding."

"I'm going to bed," Kyo grumbled, quickly leaving the room.

Yuki was not that far behind. "Me, too," he said.

Tohru did a quick, grateful bow. "Thank you for the story," she said. "I only wish that there was a happy ending to it."

Shigure smiled. "Me, too." When Tohru left, Shigure stopped smiling. There were only three more hours before sunrise and to be honest, he didn't want to spend them trying to sleep. He reached for the book he was reading earlier and flipped through it, trying to pick up where he had left off. He then remembered that he could barely recall what he had read before telling that story. He let out a sigh as he closed his eyes. "_I feel bad for Hitomi and for you."_ Only Tohru would say that after he had told them it was all a lie.

Shigure heard knocking from the front door. He sat in his chair a while longer before he got up and went to answer. Outside were Ayame and Hatori. Ayame held up a bottle of _sake_.

"You're not sleeping tonight, right?" Ayame asked.

"You know me well," Shigure said, letting them come in.

* * *

The _sake_ was warm but delicious and Shigure welcomed the feeling of the liquid running down his throat. The men sat on the floor around a table. On it were their three glasses and the _sake _bottle. Shigure sort of wished that Ayame had brought two bottles. However, he knew if Ayame had, he would probably get drunk, worrying Ayame and annoying Hatori simultaneously. That wouldn't bode well, considering the reason they showed up tonight.

"You were reading?" Hatori asked, nodding toward the book abandoned on the chair.

"I tried but then I ended up telling Tohru, Kyo, and Yuki a story."

"About what?"

"About Hitomi and how I messed up." He reached the bottle and refilled his glass, ignoring that Ayame and Hatori had just exchanged looks. "I finished not too long before you arrived."

"...I thought you would never talk about Hitomi again," Hatori said carefully.

"I figured I would show them that you should always be careful with what you say to someone," Shigure said nonchalantly, shrugging his shoulders even. "But they became _too_ sad so I told them I made it up." He had thought that he had done enough talking for the night, that maybe he would just kick back and drink with his two best friends, see what was happening with their lives. He was beginning to think that the _sake_ was loosening his tongue to his dislike. The conversation about Hitomi was supposed to have ended when the teens left.

"Are you coming this year, Gure?" Ayame asked. "To visit Tomi?"

Shigure gave him a meek smile. "I never have, Aya. Why should I start now?"

"Because Tomi would appreciate it," Ayame replied.

"Hitomi's last words were that she hated me. I doubt she would want me to visit her grave."

Hatori sighed and took out his cigarette. He put it between his lips. "Hitomi never hated you," he said, lighting it. "You, more than anyone, should know that."

"Even so... I did everything I could for her and in the end she made me feel like I didn't. A part of me is angry at her about that." The rational side of him told him he did so unjustly yet he couldn't help it. The weeks after her death and funeral had been sleepless. He couldn't stay in his bedroom anymore; the guest bedroom eventually had become his. He had hoped that when he had confronted Minako, some of his guilt would have been relieved. But it hadn't.

He could only blame Minako for pushing and subsequently killing Hitomi. However, he couldn't blame Minako for allowing that to happen. If he had run away with her, even temporarily, or had even stopped Minako from reaching her, things wouldn't have turned out the way they had. Hitomi had every right to hate him but he wished that she had kept that to herself. Starting with the anniversary of the incident to till the anniversary of her death, his mind was tormented by guilt.

"Do you know what she told me once?" Hatori said. "'No matter what happens, I know that Shigure would always have my heart.'"

"When did she say that?" Shigure asked.

"Does it matter?"

"She was going to run away without me that evening," Shigure said, finishing his cup of sake. He reached for the bottle and turned it over above his cup. However, not much was left; the remainder barely filled a fourth of his cup. "If Minako hadn't reached Hitomi, she would have been alive."

Hatori blew out smoke, shaking his head. "You can still be an idiot sometimes."

"Hari," Ayame said, frowning a bit.

Hatori sighed. "The day before she fell, she did run away. She got far but she decided to come back for you. Do you know why, Shigure? She needed you more than you probably realized. My point is, if she _had_ managed to escape that night, she would have come back. I can't think of a single time she never came back to you when she could."

Hatori's words lingered in the air for a while before Ayame changed the topic.

"If Hitomi was still alive today, she would have been a great person. She probably would have been a nurse, don't you agree, Shigure?"

Shigure smiled and shook his head. "She would have been a teacher. Or a maybe school counselor."

Hatori took a long drag from his cigarette, thinking about it. "Maybe. But I think she would have had her own bakery. She was good at baking."

Ayame sighed. "Too bad we'll never know."

* * *

"_You're a complete and utter jerk! It's like you're trying to ruin my life! First you refused to do the project, now this!"_

"_You mess with my feelings, you make me mad on purpose, and then you laugh about it. You always want to play some messed-up game with me. What the heck was that? Why did you kiss me?"_

"_I can't lie to myself about this. I never imagined that you would like me. I never thought that you would tell me and kiss me and ask me to do the same."_

"_I, um... I really do like you, Shigure. A lot."_

"_The last couple of weeks, I realized that I love you, Shigure."_

"_Even if I only had you, I'd be okay."_

_..._

"_You do have me, Hitomi. You will always have me."_

A few days ago, it had been the night that Hitomi had fallen. Now today was the official day of her death. Shigure found himself in the Sohma cemetery, standing in front of the gravestone with her name. It was a chilly October day, just like it had been then. However, there was nothing that he had to rush for and there were no dire consequences for anything he would do later on.

The breeze blew, sweeping his bangs across his forehead.

"I'm sorry that it has taken this long to come. I'm finally here, Hitomi."


End file.
